Detention Period for First Trial Expires on the 26th
"Risk of Evidence Destruction if Released"
Special Prosecutor Secures 150 Days for Detention Investigation
An arrest warrant requested by Special Prosecutor for Insurrection Cho Eunseok for former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun, the main perpetrator of the 12·3 Martial Law Incident, was issued on June 25.
The 34th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Han Sungjin) held a hearing on the arrest warrant requested by the special prosecutor on charges of obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means and instigation of evidence destruction, and subsequently issued the warrant.
The court determined that there was a risk of evidence destruction if former Minister Kim were to be released. The court accepted the special prosecutor's argument that, if released, Kim could attempt to influence those involved in the case or coordinate statements with accomplices, thereby posing a risk of destroying evidence.
As a result, former Minister Kim was newly detained by the court just three hours before his release, which was scheduled due to the expiration of the six-month detention period for his first trial after being arrested by the Special Investigation Headquarters for Martial Law of the prosecution in December last year. Although the court had granted bail ex officio on June 16, when Kim attempted to delay his release by refusing any conditions, Special Prosecutor Cho filed additional charges against him on June 18 and requested an additional arrest warrant from the court.
With the court's decision to detain him, the special prosecutor's team has secured custody of former Minister Kim and can now proceed with investigations into insurrection and treason cases. Kim will remain in pretrial detention for another six months, allowing the special prosecutor to conduct a full 150-day investigation while he remains in custody.
The special prosecutor for insurrection plans to focus on unresolved suspicions that were not thoroughly addressed by previous investigations, including the specific meaning and background of notes such as "retrieval" and "inducing North Korean attack" written in the notebook of former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sangwon (who has been indicted and detained), as well as suspicions that there were attempts to provoke war or armed conflict by inducing a North Korean attack?such as drone infiltration into Pyongyang?prior to the declaration of martial law.
However, some analysts point out that it may be difficult for the special prosecutor to obtain meaningful testimony from former Minister Kim, as he has consistently and strongly denied the charges in previous insurrection trials, claiming they are nothing more than the product of the prosecutor's imagination.
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