Former JCS Chairman Kim Myung-soo, Charged With 'Involvement in Insurrection,' Claims 'Special Counsel Distorted Facts'

The legal representatives of former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Myung-soo, who was indicted for charges including involvement in an insurrection by participating in forming the martial law command during the December 3 emergency martial law, completely denied the charges in court.

During the first trial for charges including undertaking important missions in an insurrection, held by Criminal Settlement Division 37-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Oh Chang-seop, Ryu Chang-sung, and Jang Sung-hoon), Kim's defense counsel stated, "We completely deny the indictment facts and will replace the specific details with a written opinion."

Before entering the courtroom, former Chairman Kim also told reporters, "The special counsel is unilaterally claiming and distorting the facts, but just as we have done so far, we will restore our honor in court based on facts and truth."

The legal representatives of former JCS Combat Readiness Inspection Deputy Chief Lee Jae-shik, former Vice JCS Chairman Jung Jin-pal, and former Army Headquarters Policy Office Chief Kim Heung-jun, who were indicted alongside him, also denied the charges of undertaking important missions in an insurrection.

They consistently argued that they were not aware of the unconstitutional and illegal nature of the situation at the time of the emergency martial law.

The court will conduct a closed-door on-site inspection of the JCS Combat Control Room, where the martial law situation room was set up during the emergency martial law incident, at 4 PM today.

Initially, the Second Independent Special Prosecutor Team led by Kwon Chang-young and the defendants' side were scheduled to attend, but for security reasons, only the court will enter.

Former Chairman Kim and others were brought to trial on July 2 of last year for charges including failing to stop troops from being deployed to the National Assembly and others while watching the situation from the JCS Command and Control Room at the time of the December 3, 2024 emergency martial law proclamation, and jointly forming the martial law command, thereby participating in an insurrection.

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