▲ Former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Hong Jang-won arrives at the office of the second special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young in Gwacheon on the 22nd to undergo questioning as a suspect regarding allegations of "conveying a message to justify martial law."
The second special counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating remaining allegations following the three initial special probes, has summoned former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Hong Jang-won for the third time.
The special counsel team has been questioning Hong as a suspect on charges of participating in important duties related to insurrection since 10:00 a.m. today (June 22).
Arriving at the special counsel's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, around 9:30 a.m., Hong stated, "If there are any suspicions or doubts, or if anything is lacking, I will explain it sufficiently."
Regarding allegations that he discussed supporting the joint investigation headquarters during a meeting of NIS political appointees and department heads held immediately after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared the December 3 emergency martial law, Hong dismissed the claims, saying, "The word 'joint' (regarding the investigation headquarters) was never even mentioned."
The special counsel team has charged Hong with attempting to contact U.S. intelligence agencies after the declaration of emergency martial law to convey a message intended to justify the martial law.
The special counsel team previously stated that during the investigation of NIS officials, they discovered circumstances suggesting that the day after the emergency martial law was declared, the NIS received a document written in Korean from the National Security Office with a request to "explain the background of the emergency martial law to friendly nations."
The special counsel team believes that following the instructions of former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, the overseas department under the First Deputy Director summoned the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Korea to the NIS to explain the purpose of the document, and that Hong received reports on and approved this entire process.
The special counsel team also suspects that on the day of the martial law declaration, Hong convened a meeting of department heads under the First Deputy Director and issued instructions related to involvement in the martial law.
It is reported that the special counsel team discovered expressions suspected of involvement in martial law in the work diaries and documents of employees who attended the meeting, which were secured during a search and seizure of the NIS.
In connection with this, the special counsel team summoned Hong as a suspect on May 22 and June 11, questioning him for approximately nine hours each time.
Regarding the "martial law justification message allegations," the special counsel team also summoned former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo twice as a suspect last month.
It is reported that the special counsel team is considering requesting an arrest warrant for Kim.
The special counsel team is also summoning and questioning former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo today.
This is the first investigation since the court dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the special counsel team on the 15th.
Kim is accused of participating in an insurrection by failing to stop the military from being deployed to the National Assembly and participating in the formation of the Martial Law Command, despite observing the situation from the JCS command and control center when emergency martial law was declared on December 3, 2024.
The special counsel team suspects that Kim, who held the authority of military command (operational control), failed to take appropriate measures despite being aware of the illegality of the emergency martial law declaration and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
Kim's side has completely denied the charges, claiming that the Minister of National Defense directly commanded and controlled the martial law troops as soon as martial law was declared, and that the Chairman was excluded from the decision-making process and was in a state where he could not exercise command over the martial law troops.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.