Ex-Presidential Secretary Kang Ui-gu Sentenced to 1.5 Years in Prison in Second Trial Over 'Retroactive Martial Law Declaration'

Kang Ui-gu, the former presidential secretary who was indicted for drafting a retroactive martial law declaration related to the December 3 emergency martial law, has been sentenced to prison again in his second trial.

The 12-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Min-ah, Lee Seung-chul, and Cho Jin-gu) sentenced the former secretary to one year and six months in prison, upholding the lower court's ruling, on charges including the creation and uttering of false official documents.

In the second trial, the court upheld the guilty verdict for charges of creating false official documents, finding that Kang drafted the cover page of the martial law declaration on December 6, 2024—three days after the emergency martial law was declared—and obtained the countersignatures of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

The court determined that this was a false official document created with the intent to make it appear as though the emergency martial law had been lawfully implemented based on documents countersigned in advance.

The appellate court noted, "The defendant was aware that the dates signed by Yoon Suk Yeol and others differed from the actual date the document was drafted."

The charges of unauthorized destruction of the retroactive martial law declaration (violations of the Presidential Records Act and damage to public documents) were also upheld as guilty, matching the first-trial verdict.

However, the court did not accept the prosecution's charge that the false declaration was drawn up with the intent to make it appear as though the emergency martial law had gone through State Council deliberations.

The reasoning was that the declaration did not contain direct content pertaining to this.

The charge of uttering the retroactive declaration was also ruled not guilty.

This was based on the interpretation that because Kang simply kept the document in his office drawer, he did not undermine public trust regarding the document.

Regarding the sentencing, the appellate court stated, "The sentencing of the original court cannot be seen as excessively heavy or light beyond the reasonable bounds of its discretion," adding, "The arguments by both the defendant and the special counsel regarding unfair sentencing were already sufficiently considered when the lower court determined the sentence."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
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