Yoon Suk Yeol, Shin Won-sik face charges of directing messages justifying martial law to allied nations

Actor Kim Soo-hyun to testify Wednesday in defamation case; Korea Zinc-Youngpoong appeal ruling also due

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at a court hearing. [Yonhap]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at a court hearing. [Yonhap]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol will stand trial for the first time this week on charges that he directed officials to send messages to key allied nations justifying the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration. Actor Kim Soo-hyun is set to appear as a victim-witness in the trial of Kim Se-eui, head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, who is accused of spreading false information about the actor. An appellate court ruling in the management rights dispute between Korea Zinc and Youngpoong, as well as the first trial of actor Lee Jae-ryong on hit-and-run charges, are also scheduled.

The first hearing in the case against Yoon and former National Security Office chief Shin Won-sik — on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights — is set for Friday at 2 p.m. at Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Collegiate Division 38-1, presided over by Judges Jang Seong-jin, Jeong Su-yeong and Choi Yeong-gak.

The two were indicted in August on charges of directing the National Security Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to transmit messages to the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and the EU asserting the legitimacy of the emergency martial law declaration shortly after it was proclaimed.

The messages are said to have included statements such as "This measure is intended to defend liberal democracy" and "President Yoon Suk Yeol maintains his stance of standing against pro-North Korea leftists and anti-American forces."

Yoon's legal team has denied all charges. At earlier pretrial hearings, defense attorneys argued that no such directives were issued or, alternatively, that any communications amounted to routine diplomatic activity.

The court has directed the second comprehensive special prosecution team, led by prosecutor Kwon Chang-yeong, to clarify and supplement portions of the indictment it found unclear or incomplete.

On the same day, Seoul High Court's Civil Collegiate Division 18-3, presided over by Judges Jin Hyeon-min, Wang Jeong-uk and Park Seon-jun, will hand down its appellate ruling in the lawsuit between Korea Zinc and Youngpoong over the validity of a new share issuance.

The two sides are disputing the legality of a third-party allotment rights offering that Korea Zinc conducted in August 2023 targeting HMG Global, an overseas affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group.

Korea Zinc issued 1,045,430 new shares to HMG Global in the transaction, through which Hyundai Motor Group acquired approximately 5 percent of Korea Zinc's shares.

Youngpoong filed a lawsuit in March 2024 seeking to invalidate the share issuance, arguing that HMG Global does not qualify as a "foreign joint venture" as defined in Korea Zinc's articles of incorporation.

In June last year, the first-instance court ruled in Youngpoong's favor, finding that Korea Zinc could not be considered a joint venture partner given that it had not invested in HMG Global, and that the share issuance violated the articles of incorporation.

On Wednesday, actor Kim Soo-hyun will appear as a witness before Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Collegiate Division 26, presided over by Judge Lee Hyeon-gyeong, in the trial of Kim Se-eui, head of Garosero Research Institute.

Kim Se-eui was indicted in custody in June on charges of spreading false claims through YouTube and other platforms — including allegations that Kim Soo-hyun had dated the late Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, and that pressure from Kim Soo-hyun's side to repay debts was the direct cause of Kim Sae-ron's death.

Kim Se-eui also faces charges of defaming Kim Soo-hyun by distributing an AI-manipulated voice recording of Kim Sae-ron, and of threatening to release private photographs of Kim Soo-hyun and expose personal information about the actor.

Kim Se-eui has denied all charges. The witness examination of Kim Soo-hyun, as the victim, is expected to be held in a closed session.

The first hearing in actor Lee Jae-ryong's hit-and-run case is also scheduled for Friday at Seoul Central District Court, before Judge Lee Jae-uk of Criminal Single-Judge Division 10.

Lee was indicted without detention in August on charges of fleeing the scene after his vehicle struck a median barrier near Cheongdam Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11 p.m. on March 6.

Lee allegedly attended another drinking gathering immediately after the accident and was apprehended at an acquaintance's home about three hours later. Police referred the case with an additional drunk driving charge, suspecting Lee had consumed more alcohol after the crash in an attempt to obscure evidence of intoxication — a practice sometimes called "alcohol dilution."

However, prosecutors excluded the drunk driving charge from the indictment, determining that it had not been clearly established that Lee's blood alcohol level exceeded the legal threshold of 0.03 percent at the time of driving.

Several other trials related to the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration are also proceeding. The first hearing in the case against former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-hyun — who is accused of reviewing the dispatch of prosecutors to a martial law joint investigation headquarters at the direction of then-Justice Minister Park Seong-jae — is set for Tuesday.

The first hearing for former Army Capital Defense Command 1st Security Regiment commander Col. Jo Seong-hyeon, who is charged with relaying orders from the military command to deploy troops to the National Assembly during the emergency martial law, is scheduled for Thursday.


sjy@heraldcorp.com