A Seoul court sentenced five former senior South Korean military commanders to prison terms of 9 to 18 years for playing key roles in the rebellion linked to former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law declaration in December 2024. The court noted the defendants abandoned the military’s political neutrality and used the armed forces for political party interests.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced five former military commanders after determining they played significant roles in the rebellion during former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s unsuccessful attempt to declare martial law in 2024.
The court sentenced Yeo In-hyung, former commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, to 18 years in prison, and Lee Jin-woo, former commander of the Seoul Defense Command, to 15 years.
Meanwhile, Moon Sang-ho, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, was sentenced to 12 years; Park An-soo, former Army Chief of Staff who served as martial law commander, to 10 years; and Kwak Jong-geun, former commander of the Army Special Warfare Command, to 9 years.
The court found the defendants guilty of multiple charges, including deploying troops to the National Assembly and National Election Commission, as well as establishing and operating units to monitor and detain politicians following Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law declaration on 3 December 2024.
Special prosecutor Cho Eun-seok's team had requested 30-year sentences each for Yeo In-hyung and Lee Jin-woo, 25 years for Park An-soo, and 20 years each for Kwak Jong-geun and Moon Sang-ho.
Yeo In-hyung received the harshest sentence as the court found him guilty of attempting to detain politicians, including Lee Jae-myung, then leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, who is currently the President of South Korea.
The court also stated that Yeo In-hyung was aware of the illegality of Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law plan, based on discussions with the former president and Kim Yong-hyun, then Minister of National Defense, before the declaration.
The court said in its ruling that the crime of rebellion is serious because it threatens the state's existence. It added that the defendants abandoned the military’s political neutrality and used the armed forces politically to benefit one party.
On the night Yoon declared martial law, military forces moved into the National Assembly and Election Commission offices but withdrew shortly after the National Assembly voted to revoke the emergency martial law order.
This verdict follows Yoon Suk-yeol’s life imprisonment sentence in February for leading the rebellion through the martial law attempt. Yoon’s case is currently under appeal.
On the same day, the court dismissed charges against Im Jong-deok, a member of the National Assembly from the main opposition People Power Party, accused of abusing power regarding appointments in the presidential National Security Office in 2023.
The special prosecution alleged that Im, then Deputy National Security Advisor, unfairly appointed an army officer to the National Crisis Management Center within the office.
However, the court ruled that the charges fell outside the special prosecution’s investigative authority, which is limited to allegations related to the 2024 martial law attempt by former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
. . .Yonhap/The Korea Times