▲ Kang Gyu-gu, former head of the Presidential Office's Annex, who was indicted on charges of drafting a post-dated martial law declaration, walks toward the courtroom for his first-instance sentencing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, in May.
The special counsel has requested a five-year prison sentence for Kang Gyu-gu, the former head of the Presidential Office's Annex, during his appellate trial for allegedly drafting a post-dated martial law declaration related to the December 3 emergency martial law decree.
The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 12-3 (Presiding Judges Kim Min-ah, Lee Seung-cheol, and Jo Jin-gu) concluded the arguments in the first appellate hearing for Kang on July 21 and scheduled the sentencing for August 24.
The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok argued that the first-instance sentence of one year and six months was too lenient, requesting that the court impose a five-year prison term instead.
The prosecution also claimed that the first-instance court erred in finding Kang not guilty of certain charges, including the uttering of a forged official document.
The special counsel team criticized the defendant, stating, "The essence of this crime is not document forgery for private gain, but an attempt to obstruct the National Assembly's impeachment proceedings and the criminal justice process regarding the unconstitutional and illegal declaration of emergency martial law," adding that "the nature of the crime is very grave."
In his closing argument, Kang's defense attorney maintained his innocence, stating that the first-instance ruling was "unjust."
The defense argued that the cover page of the martial law declaration, which Kang drafted three days after the emergency martial law was proclaimed, cannot be considered a forged official document. They further contended that there was no intent to make it appear as though the martial law declaration had been carried out legally based on documents countersigned in advance.
In his final statement, Kang appealed for his innocence, saying, "I did not recognize the gravity of the situation regarding the emergency martial law declaration and thought it was acceptable to obtain signatures after the fact, as per custom." He added, "I had no awareness of falsity, no criminal intent, and no purpose to utter the document."
Kang is accused of drafting a cover page for a martial law declaration dated December 3 and obtaining signatures from former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun after the emergency martial law had already been declared.
The special counsel team alleges that the purpose was to make it appear as though the martial law declaration had been carried out legally, following deliberation by the State Council and based on documents that had been countersigned in advance.
He is also charged with damaging public records by destroying the document and violating the Presidential Records Management Act.
The first-instance court found Kang guilty of drafting a false official document to make it appear as if it had been created before the martial law was declared, as well as the charge related to the destruction of the document.
However, the court did not accept the prosecution's claim that he intended to make it appear as though the martial law had gone through legal procedures, such as State Council deliberation.
The court also acquitted Kang of the charge of uttering a forged official document, ruling that "the act of keeping the document in a desk drawer and then destroying it cannot be seen as harming public trust in the document."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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