▲ Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo speaks as he arrives at the second comprehensive special counsel's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 27 to be questioned as a suspect on charges of engaging in critical duties related to insurrection.
Court hearings were held consecutively to determine whether to issue arrest warrants for former military leaders, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo, who are accused of participating in an insurrection during the emergency martial law.
Presiding Judge Bu Dong-shik of the Seoul Central District Court's insurrection warrant division held substantive arrest warrant hearings sequentially starting at 9:30 a.m. today (June 15) for former Chairman Kim, former Deputy Chief of Combat Readiness Inspection at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Jae-sik, former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Jeong Jin-pal, and former Chief of Policy at Army Headquarters Kim Heung-jun to review the necessity of their detention.
Assistant Special Counsels Kim Jung-min and Kwon Young-bin from the second comprehensive special counsel team, led by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, attended the hearings.
Before entering the courtroom, Assistant Special Counsel Kim told reporters, "The biggest fault of those currently undergoing warrant reviews is that they failed to properly carry out the demands of the public during the martial law period."
In particular, regarding former Chairman Kim, who was the nation's highest-ranking military officer at the time, Kim said, "Arguing over whether he had a specific duty based on detailed legal provisions goes against public common sense." He explained that the key issue lies in examining not only explicit legal obligations but also the spirit of the Constitution and the overall framework of the Armed Forces Organization Act.
Former Chairman Kim emerged from his hearing at around 11:20 a.m. and briefly told reporters, "I explained my position sincerely."
He did not answer questions such as, "Do you acknowledge that, as the highest-ranking military official, you failed to restrain the defense minister?" or "Did you not know that military operational command lies with the Joint Chiefs of Staff?" Regarding allegations that he ignored recommendations to withdraw martial law troops, he replied, "You can refer to the materials submitted by my lawyer."
Former Chairman Kim is accused of participating in the insurrection by standing by in the Joint Chiefs of Staff's command and control room when emergency martial law was declared on December 3, 2024, watching troops being deployed to the National Assembly and other locations without stopping them, and helping to form the Martial Law Command.
The special counsel team booked former Chairman Kim and others on charges of engaging in critical duties related to insurrection as its "first recognized case" in March, about two weeks after the team's launch, and has since continued its investigation.
The special counsel team believes that former Chairman Kim, who held military operational command, was aware of the illegality of the emergency martial law declaration and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly, yet failed to take appropriate measures.
During the investigation, the special counsel team also secured statements indicating that former Chairman Kim had received reports from his staff during the martial law period stating that "there are procedural issues with the declaration of martial law" and "troops deployed to the National Assembly must be withdrawn," and had also received legal advice that "even if martial law is declared, military operational command remains with the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
The special counsel team's view is that despite receiving such advice, former Chairman Kim did not restrain then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun or withdraw the troops, but instead remained involved in the martial law.
The special counsel team also views former Chairman Kim's issuance of fragmentary orders to the Special Warfare Command and the Capital Defense Command to "prioritize martial law duties" as evidence of his involvement in the insurrection.
In response, former Chairman Kim's side has completely denied the charges, arguing that the defense minister directly commanded and controlled the martial law troops immediately upon the declaration of martial law, and that the chairman was sidelined from the decision-making process and was in no position to exercise command over the troops.
Following former Chairman Kim, former Deputy Chief Lee underwent his warrant review at 11:00 a.m., while former Vice Chairman Jeong and former Chief of Policy Kim underwent their reviews at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
Former Vice Chairman Jeong, former Chief of Policy Kim, and former Deputy Chief Lee, who were involved in forming the Martial Law Command, are also suspected of preparing for a second martial law by checking available troops even after the National Assembly voted to lift the emergency martial law.
The court's decision on whether to arrest former Chairman Kim and the others is expected to be announced as early as late tonight.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.