▲ Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Myung-soo speaks as he arrives at the second independent counsel's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 27 to undergo questioning as a suspect on charges including playing a key role in a rebellion.
A court hearing has begun to decide whether to arrest former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo, who is suspected of participating in a rebellion during the emergency martial law declaration.
Senior Judge Bu Dong-sik of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrants related to the rebellion case, began a hearing to review the necessity of arresting Kim at 9:30 a.m. today (June 15).
Kim entered the courtroom before the warrant hearing, avoiding reporters.
From the second independent counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young, assistant independent counsels Kim Jung-min and Kwon Young-bin attended the hearing.
Assistant Independent Counsel Kim said, "The biggest fault of those currently undergoing warrant hearings is that they failed to properly carry out the demands of the public during the martial law." He added, "He (former Chairman Kim) is arguing over whether he had a duty based on detailed legal provisions, but I believe that goes against public common sense."
He continued, "Beyond explicit legal duties, there is the spirit of the Constitution, the overall framework of the Armed Forces Organization Act, and above all, isn't (the JCS Chairman) the number one military authority on active duty?" He added, "The top-ranking active-duty soldier is making excuses to the public that he did nothing and could do nothing about this situation. In this hearing, we intend to clearly point out that it was not a situation where he could do nothing."
Kim is accused of participating in a rebellion by watching troops being deployed to the National Assembly and other locations from the JCS command and control center when emergency martial law was declared on December 3, 2024, without stopping it, and by helping to form the martial law command.
The independent counsel team booked Kim and others in March, about two weeks after its launch, as its "first self-initiated case" on charges including performing key duties in a rebellion, and has since been conducting an investigation.
The independent counsel team believes that Kim, who held military command authority, failed to take appropriate measures despite knowing the illegality of the martial law declaration and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
During the investigation, the team also secured statements indicating that Kim had received reports from his staff during the martial law stating that "there are issues with the martial law declaration procedure" and "troops deployed to the National Assembly must be withdrawn," as well as legal advice that "even if martial law is declared, military command authority remains with the JCS."
The independent counsel team's view is that despite hearing these opinions, Kim did not restrain then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun or withdraw the troops, but instead participated in the martial law.
The team also views Kim's issuance of a fragmentary order to the Special Warfare Command and the Capital Defense Command to "prioritize martial law duties" as evidence of his involvement in the rebellion.
However, Kim's side has completely denied the charges, arguing that the defense minister directly commanded and controlled the martial law forces immediately upon the declaration of martial law, and that the chairman was excluded from the decision-making process, leaving him unable to exercise command over the martial law forces.
Along with Kim, the independent counsel team requested arrest warrants on June 9 for Lee Jae-sik, former deputy head of the JCS combat readiness inspection office; Jung Jin-pal, former vice chairman of the JCS; and Kim Heung-jun, former head of the Army Headquarters' policy office, believing they also participated in the rebellion by being involved in forming the martial law command.
Lee's warrant hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. today, while Jung and Kim Heung-jun will undergo their hearings at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
Jung, Kim Heung-jun, and Lee are also suspected of preparing for a second martial law by checking available troops even after the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of the emergency martial law.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.