▲ Former 2nd Armored Brigade Commander Koo Sam-hoe (Brigadier General, left) and former Defense Innovation Secretary Bang Jung-hwan (Brigadier General)
The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok investigating the insurrection appealed today (Nov. 5) against the first-instance acquittal of eight former military officials, including former Army 2nd Armored Brigade Commander Koo Sam-hoe, who had been indicted on charges including engaging in important missions of insurrection.
The special counsel team announced that it submitted an appeal yesterday to Criminal Settlement Division 38-2 of the Seoul Central District Court, which tried the case, citing factual errors and misinterpretation of the law.
The special counsel team explained, "We took into consideration that the defendants acquitted this time were core commanders who participated in conspiracies even before the declaration of martial law, received and waited on missions while maintaining operational security, or deployed and commanded troops to sites such as the National Assembly and the National Election Commission that are never permitted even under normal martial law."
It added, "We held in-depth discussions with the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutors' Office regarding the flaws in the lower court's ruling which acquitted all defendants and the direction for maintaining the prosecution in the appellate trial," stating that it plans to jointly maintain the prosecution in the upcoming appeal.
This case was originally investigated by the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutors' Office and indicted in February, and was handed over to the special counsel team in April to jointly maintain the prosecution.
Previously, the court acquitted former Brigade Commander Koo Sam-hoe and former Defense Innovation Secretary Bang Jung-hwan, who attended the so-called "hamburger meeting" just before the declaration of emergency martial law, on October 30, stating that the purpose of disturbing the constitutional order—a constituent element of the crime of insurrection—had not been proven.
Acquittals were also handed down collectively to the former military officials who were put on trial side by side on charges of deploying troops to the National Assembly, the National Election Commission, and a private public opinion polling agency on the day emergency martial law was declared.
The court ruled that the purpose of disturbing the constitutional order was not established for former Defense Security Command 1st Bureau Chief Jung Sung-woo, former Special Warfare Command 3rd Airborne Brigade Commander Kim Jung-keun, former 9th Airborne Brigade Commander Ahn Moo-sung, former Ministry of Defense Investigation Headquarters Deputy Chief Kim Sang-yong, former Capital Defense Command Military Police Brigade Commander Kim Chang-hak, and former Special Operations Aviation Group Commander Kim Se-woon.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.