'Accused of Spying on Sewol Ferry Bereaved Families,' Defense Command Officer Receives Suspended Sentence in Second Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A former officer of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces' Defense Security Command (DSC) who was prosecuted for spying on the families of the Sewol ferry victims received a suspended prison sentence again in the appellate trial.

On the 18th, the Criminal Appeals Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Gwanyong) sentenced former DSC 3rd Division Chief (Brigadier General) Kim Byungchul to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, the same as the first trial, on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

The court stated, "The issue in this case is whether intelligence on the movements of the Sewol ferry victims' families was continuously collected and reported after the Sewol ferry sinking accident, and whether this caused the performance of duties that were not required."

Former Division Chief Kim claimed that he never instructed DSC personnel to spy on civilians and did not recognize that the command's order to collect information related to the victims' families was illegal.

In response, the court explained, "Documents were prepared under the direction of former Division Chief Kim, who repeatedly revised and circulated them," adding, "This reveals the behavior of former Division Chief Kim." It further pointed out, "Those who have worked at the Defense Security Command for a long time may all be like this, but seeing that they go beyond a passive level, it seems they cannot distinguish between the regime and the state."

Earlier, former Division Chief Kim was prosecuted on charges of conspiring with the Defense Security Command for several months from the day of the Sewol ferry disaster to instruct DSC personnel to spy on the families of the victims. The military court's first trial sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, stating, "Under former Division Chief Kim's orders, personnel spied on the Sewol ferry victims' families for several months, but former Division Chief Kim also directed the spying activities under the orders of the Chief of Staff."