▲ Former NIS First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won
The 2nd Comprehensive Special Counsel team has indicted four former members of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) leadership during the December 3 emergency martial law, including former Director Cho Tae-yong and former First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won, on charges of complicity in rebellion.
The special counsel team announced today (August 19) that it has indicted without detention four political appointees from the Yoon Suk Yeol administration: former Director Cho, former First Deputy Director Hong, former Second Deputy Director Hwang Won-jin, and former Planning and Coordination Office Director Kim Nam-woo, on charges of engaging in important missions of rebellion and abuse of power under the National Intelligence Service Act.
Former Director Cho is accused of giving comprehensive instructions to employees during the martial law by telling them to "follow the Ulchi Exercise procedures" and explaining the martial law to U.S. intelligence cooperation agencies in a manner that defended it.
Former First Deputy Director Hong was also handed over to trial, identified as the person who convened a meeting of department heads under his jurisdiction on the day of martial law, established a contact point with the Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command and the National Police Agency, and ordered personnel to be dispatched to the National Police Agency's situation room.
Previously, the special counsel team stated that during the investigation of NIS officials and others, it captured circumstances in which the NIS received a document written in Korean from the National Security Office the morning after the emergency martial law, along with a request to "explain the background of the emergency martial law to friendly nations."
According to the special counsel team's investigation results, following former Director Cho's instructions, the overseas-in-charge department under the First Deputy Director called the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) station in South Korea to the NIS to explain the purpose of the document, and former First Deputy Director Hong received reports on and approved the entire process.
However, former First Deputy Director Hong has previously maintained his stance that the meeting of department heads he convened after the political appointees' meeting concluded on the day of martial law ended in 10 minutes, and it merely involved organizing department-specific tasks, measures, and manuals the next day given the martial law situation.
After summoning former First Deputy Director Hong four times as a suspect starting last May, the special counsel team concluded that the charges of complicity in rebellion were established.
The special counsel team also handed former Second Deputy Director Hwang Won-jin over to trial on charges of ordering the review of plans to dispatch personnel to the Joint Investigation Headquarters of the Martial Law Command and ordering the selection of investigation targets upon the restoration of counterintelligence investigation powers.
Former Planning and Coordination Office Director Kim Nam-woo is accused of ordering the selection of personnel for dispatch to the martial law situation room upon the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team stated that apart from the criminal facts of certain political appointees, there was no systematic participation in the rebellion by regular NIS employees.
After conducting a search and seizure on the NIS servers last April, the special counsel team summoned 71 former and current employees as reference witnesses for a total of 82 sessions, and 11 individuals as suspects for 22 sessions.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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