Special Prosecutor for Insurrection Questions Lee Sangmin for First Time After Arrest on Conspiracy Charges... Nosangwon Also Summoned Over North Korea Foreign Exchange Suspicion

Lee Sangmin Detained on August 1... Charged with "Key Insurrectionary Duties"
Nosangwon Also Questioned in Connection with "North Wind Operation" Suspicions

Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sangmin, who has been detained on charges of conspiring in former President Yoon Sukyeol's "illegal declaration of emergency martial law," is being questioned for the first time since his arrest.

On August 4, the special prosecutor's team for insurrection, led by Cho Eunseok, summoned former Minister Lee, who is being held at the Seoul Detention Center, for questioning.

Lee was arrested on August 1 on charges including participation in key insurrectionary duties, abuse of authority, and perjury. As the minister in charge of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which oversees martial law during peacetime, he is accused of failing to prevent and instead abetting the illegal declaration of martial law.

He also faces allegations of engaging in "acts of constitutional disorder" by relaying orders to the National Police Agency and National Fire Agency to cut off electricity and water supplies to media outlets, thereby infringing on press freedom and citizens' rights to life and safety. Through these actions, he is accused of sequentially participating in former President Yoon's insurrectionary crimes.

In addition, Lee is accused of giving false testimony at the Constitutional Court. During the impeachment trial of former President Yoon in February, he testified that he had never attempted to cut off electricity or water and had never received such instructions from the president. However, the special prosecutor's team believes all of this testimony was false.

The special prosecutor's team plans to question Lee in detail about when he became aware of the martial law declaration plans, the specific content of instructions he received from former President Yoon regarding cutting off electricity and water, and the process of convening the Cabinet meeting prior to the declaration of martial law.

Additionally, the investigation is expected to cover the so-called "safe house meeting" that took place on the day martial law was lifted. On that day, Lee is suspected of meeting with former Minister of Justice Park Sungjae, former Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Juhyun, and former Director of the Ministry of Government Legislation Lee Wankyu at the presidential safe house in Samcheong-dong to discuss a possible second martial law or plans to manage the situation. However, this suspicion was not included in the facts listed in the arrest warrant.

Nosangwon Also Questioned... Focus on 'Foreign Exchange Offenses' and Notebook Contents

Furthermore, the special prosecutor's team is questioning former Defense Security Command chief Nosangwon as a witness from the morning of August 4 as part of its investigation into foreign exchange-related suspicions surrounding the emergency martial law. Nosangwon is currently under detention as a civilian on charges of conspiring in martial law.

The special prosecutor's team is expected to focus its questioning on allegations that former President Yoon and others, in order to justify the declaration of emergency martial law, attempted to provoke an attack by North Korea?such as by orchestrating an unmanned drone incursion near Pyongyang?to trigger war or armed conflict.

Previously, phrases such as "induce North Korean attack near the NLL (Northern Limit Line)" and "waste balloon" were found in Nosangwon's notebook, raising suspicions that he, along with former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyun and others, was planning a "North Wind operation" (an operation to incite anti-North Korean sentiment).

Based on the contents of the notebook, the special prosecutor's team is expected to question Nosangwon about the specific meaning and context of the memos, the circumstances under which they were written, and whether he discussed operations against North Korea with former President Yoon or former Minister Kim.

Additionally, the investigation will include whether Nosangwon was involved in an incident in November of the previous year, in which two Defense Security Command agents were detained by Mongolian intelligence authorities while attempting to contact officials from the North Korean embassy in Mongolia as part of an operation.