Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung Denies Charges of Complicity in Insurrection and Giving Up Immediate Appeal for Yoon Suk-yeol

The legal team for former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung, who was indicted on charges of involvement in the insurrection—including reviewing the dispatch of prosecutors to the martial law joint investigation headquarters during the emergency martial law crisis—denied all charges during his first court appearance.

During the first preparatory hearing held on the 30th for the charges of important mission participation in an insurrection, presided over by Panel Division 38-3 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Choi Young-gak, Chang Sung-jin, and Jung Soo-young), Shim's defense counsel stated, "We deny all of the public charges."

The defense attorney for Jeon Mu-gon, the former head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Planning and Coordination Department (prosecutor general rank) who was indicted alongside Shim, also denied all allegations.

The court decided to hold another preparatory hearing on the 23rd of next month.

Neither former Prosecutor General Shim nor former Prosecutor Jeon attended the hearing that day.

Former Prosecutor General Shim is accused of reviewing the dispatch of prosecutors to the martial law joint investigation headquarters upon the instructions of former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, starting from December 3, 2024, the day the emergency martial law was declared, until dawn the following day.

He is also suspected of being involved in discussing countermeasures for crimes falling under the jurisdiction of military courts immediately after the declaration of emergency martial law and participating in drafting a document regarding "trial jurisdiction under emergency martial law."

Additionally, charges were applied for abusing his authority to give up an immediate appeal after the court accepted a request to cancel the detention of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was detained and indicted in March of last year on charges including heading an insurrection.

Jeon Mu-gon, who served as the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Planning and Coordination Department at the time of the emergency martial law, is accused of assisting Shim by participating in discussions on jurisdiction and the drafting of documents concerning trial jurisdiction under emergency martial law.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.