Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Leaking Intelligence Agency Personnel List

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been sentenced to three years in prison for leaking a list of Defense Intelligence Command (DIC) personnel to form a special investigation unit for alleged election fraud during the December 3 martial law incident.

The Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Jo Soon-pyo of the 21st Criminal Division, delivered the guilty verdict today (June 19) against the former minister, who was charged with violating the Military Criminal Act by leaking military secrets and violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

The special counsel team led by Jo Eun-seok had previously requested a five-year prison sentence.

The court recognized as guilty the charge that between October and November 2024, Kim conspired with then-DIC Commander Moon Sang-ho, Central News Agency Chief Kim Bong-gyu, and 100th Brigade 2nd Task Force Chief Jung Sung-wook to deliver a list of approximately 40 individuals, including agents from the DIC’s Human Intelligence (HID) unit, to former DIC Commander Noh Sang-won.

The court also upheld the special counsel's findings that Kim and Noh intended to use the list to form a "Second Investigation Unit" to probe alleged election fraud under the emergency martial law situation.

Kim’s legal team argued that the charges constituted "double jeopardy," claiming they overlapped with a separate ongoing case regarding his alleged involvement in the insurrection. However, the court rejected this argument.

"The crime of engaging in important duties of an insurrection and the crime of leaking military secrets are separate offenses with different constituent elements," the court stated. "This does not constitute double jeopardy, nor can it be seen as an abuse of prosecutorial power by the special counsel team."

In explaining the sentencing, the court noted, "The defendant used the military chain of command to play a decisive role in allowing Noh, a civilian, to freely access the personal information of DIC agents."

The court further rebuked him, stating, "This crime was one of the driving forces that led to the declaration of an emergency martial law that lacked any substantive requirements. It cannot be evaluated merely as a simple leak of military secrets or a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act, as it caused the grave consequence of an unconstitutional and illegal martial law."

The court added, "We have taken into account that, even now, the defendant has shown no remorse for this incident or the consequences resulting from his actions."

Kim’s legal team announced plans to appeal, calling the ruling "a flawed decision that allows the government to punish all duties performed by soldiers at its whim by labeling information that was neither designated, registered, nor managed as a military secret."

Kim is currently standing trial in a separate case, having been sentenced to 30 years in prison in the first trial last February for charges including performing important duties during an insurrection and abuse of power in connection with the December 3 emergency martial law.

Additionally, on June 12, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in a separate first trial for ordering a "drone infiltration operation into Pyongyang" to create a pretext for martial law.

Meanwhile, former DIC Commander Noh was indicted separately on charges of receiving the list of DIC agents from Kim and accepting bribes from high-ranking military officials in exchange for promotion favors. On May 12, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of two years in prison and a forfeiture of 24.9 million won for Noh.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.