Perjury and Leaking Military Secrets
Court Cites "Risk of Evidence Destruction"
Former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong and former Defense Security Commander Moon Sangho, who were indicted and detained on charges of participating in the 12·3 Martial Law, have been additionally detained.
According to the legal community on June 30, the Central District Military Court issued arrest warrants for former commanders Yeo Inhyeong and Moon Sangho at the request of the military prosecution on this day. The court determined that there was a risk of evidence destruction and therefore issued the warrants. Both defendants were indicted and detained earlier this year, and their initial six-month detention period for the first trial was set to expire in early July.
The military prosecution, after consulting with Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok's team on the insurrection case on June 23, additionally indicted former commanders Yeo and Moon on charges including perjury and leaking military secrets. Based on these charges, the prosecution requested the court to issue additional arrest warrants.
Park Jiyoung, deputy special prosecutor for the insurrection case, stated in a briefing on this day, "At around 3:20 p.m. today, arrest warrants were issued for former commanders Yeo Inhyeong and Moon Sangho." She added, "Regarding former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sangwon, we reiterated the necessity of consolidating arguments and issuing an arrest warrant after his additional indictment, and we are awaiting the court's decision."
In response to criticism that the special prosecutor, not the military prosecution, should be in charge of indicting former commander Yeo and others since they are under special investigation, Park said, "The Special Prosecutor Act allows for a transfer to be requested, but it does not mandate it." She added, "We submitted our opinion, and it appears the military court accepted this view and issued the warrants."
Regarding the claim that the special prosecutor's additional indictment of former commander Yeo for perjury infringes on his right to defense, Park countered, "There are many cases where, if perjury is clear before a verdict is finalized, an indictment is made." She emphasized, "This is not so much a restriction of the right to defense as it is an indictment in consideration of the purpose of punishing perjury."
Former commander Yeo is accused of perjury regarding the infiltration of the National Election Commission by martial law forces during the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of former President Yoon Sukyeol and during the military court trial.
Former commander Moon was additionally indicted for providing information about Defense Security Command personnel to former commander Noh Sangwon, who was a civilian, while discussing the selection of personnel for the Second Investigation Team to probe alleged election fraud. On June 27, the special prosecutor also additionally indicted former commander Noh for receiving military information, including personal data of Defense Security Command personnel, from Moon and others for the purpose of selecting members of the Second Investigation Team (on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act), and requested the court to issue an additional arrest warrant.
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