Special Counsel Summons Former NIS Deputy Director Hong Jang-won for Third Time Over 'Martial Law Justification' Allegations

The second special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young, which is investigating remaining allegations following the third special counsel probe, has summoned former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Hong Jang-won for the third time.
The special counsel team has been questioning Hong since 10:00 a.m. today (June 22) as a suspect on charges of participating in important duties related to insurrection.
Arriving at the special counsel's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, around 9:30 a.m. today, Hong stated, "If there are any suspicions or doubts, or if anything is lacking, I will explain it fully."
Regarding allegations that he discussed providing support for the joint investigation headquarters during a meeting of NIS political appointees and department heads held immediately after former President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law on December 3, Hong dismissed the claim, saying, "The word 'joint' (in joint investigation headquarters) was never even mentioned."
The special counsel team has charged Hong with attempting to convey messages intended to justify the martial law declaration to U.S. intelligence agencies after the emergency martial law was proclaimed.
The special counsel team previously stated that, while investigating NIS officials, they secured evidence that the NIS received a document written in Korean from the National Security Office on the morning after the emergency martial law declaration, along with a request to "explain the background of the emergency martial law to friendly nations."
The special counsel team believes that following instructions from former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, the overseas department under the First Deputy Director summoned the head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in South Korea to the NIS to explain the purpose of the document, and that Hong received reports on and approved this entire process.
The special counsel team also suspects that Hong convened a meeting of department heads under the First Deputy Director on the day of the martial law declaration and issued instructions related to involvement in the martial law.
It is reported that the special counsel team discovered expressions suspected of being related to involvement in martial law within the work notebooks and documents of employees who attended the meeting at the time, which were secured during a search and seizure of the NIS.
In connection with this, the special counsel team previously summoned Hong as a suspect on May 22 and June 11, questioning him for approximately nine hours each time.
Regarding the "martial law justification message" allegations, the special counsel team also summoned former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo twice as a suspect last month.
It is reported that the special counsel team is considering requesting an arrest warrant for former Deputy Director Kim.
The special counsel team is also summoning and questioning former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo today.
This is the first questioning since the court dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the special counsel team on the 15th.
Former Chairman Kim is accused of participating in an insurrection by failing to stop the military from being deployed to the National Assembly and participating in the formation of the Martial Law Command, despite witnessing the situation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff command and control room when emergency martial law was declared on December 3, 2024.
The special counsel team suspects that Kim, who held the authority to command military operations, failed to take appropriate measures despite being aware of the illegality of the emergency martial law declaration and the deployment of troops to the National Assembly.
Former Chairman Kim's side has completely denied the charges, claiming that the Minister of National Defense directly commanded and controlled the martial law troops as soon as martial law was declared, and that the Chairman was excluded from the decision-making process and was in a state where he could not exercise command over the martial law troops.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.