Special Counsel Seeks Arrest Warrant for Former Ground Operations Commander Kang Ho-pil Over Insurrection Allegations

The comprehensive special counsel team filed for an arrest warrant yesterday (July 10) for Kang Ho-pil, former commander of the Republic of Korea Army Ground Operations Command, on charges of participating in important duties related to insurrection in connection with the December 3 martial law declaration.
Kang is accused of participating in the insurrection by involving himself in the formation of the Ground Operations Command's internal situation room after the martial law declaration, and ordering the assembly of the crisis management team and all command staff.
Kang is also suspected of having participated in discussions regarding the martial law declaration prior to its announcement.
During the investigation and trial proceedings by the special counsel on insurrection, a memo written by former Defense Counterintelligence Command (DCC) chief Yeo In-hyung was made public. The memo was found to contain phrases such as "common opinion" of the "J-T-S-B"—referring to the commanders of the Ground Operations Command, Special Warfare Command, Capital Defense Command, and the DCC—as well as "the four are prepared," and "enemy action must come first. It must be a situation where control is impossible through wartime or police force."
Among the commanders mentioned in the memo, former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun, former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo, and former DCC chief Yeo In-hyung—excluding former Ground Operations Commander Kang—have all been indicted and are currently standing trial on charges of participating in important duties related to insurrection.
Kang denies the allegations, claiming that he was unaware of the martial law declaration in advance and was not involved in its execution.
The pre-arrest interrogation for Kang is scheduled to be held at the Seoul Central District Court on the morning of July 13.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.