'Military Comment Manipulation' Kim Kwan-jin Sentenced to 2 Years in Retrial

"No Risk of Flight" Avoiding Detention in Court

Former Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin was sentenced to prison in the retrial after remand for allegedly ordering the Military Cyber Command to write 'political comments.' On the morning of the 18th, the Criminal Division 1-2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Woo-jin, Ma Yong-ju, Han Chang-hoon) sentenced former Minister Kim to two years in prison on charges including political involvement under the Military Criminal Act.

Former Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin is leaving the courtroom after being sentenced to 2 years in prison at the retrial sentencing hearing held on the morning of the 18th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The court, following the Supreme Court's remand decision, acquitted former Cyber Command Psychological Warfare Unit Chief Lee Tae-ha of abuse of authority related to the warrant application. However, it stated, "He intervened in the formation of free public opinion by having unit members post political opinions," and "He abused his authority to prevent the substance of the investigation, which should have been conducted fairly, from being revealed." It also added, "Considering the justification of anti-North cyber warfare and the proportion of the acquitted parts in the whole, a prison sentence is inevitable." However, Kim was not detained in court due to no flight risk.

Earlier, former Minister Kim was indicted on charges of ordering Military Cyber Command personnel, along with former Ministry of National Defense Policy Director Im Gwan-bin and others, to post about 9,000 comments supporting the then-government and ruling party and criticizing the opposition around the 2012 general and presidential elections. He was also charged with verifying political tendencies and excluding candidates from certain regions during the recruitment of new civilian employees for the Cyber Command in June 2012. Additionally, he faced charges of ordering former Investigation Headquarters Chief Baek and others to downscale investigations into Cyber Command's political involvement from December 2013 to April 2014 during the Park Geun-hye administration.

The first trial found former Minister Kim guilty of political involvement and some abuse of authority charges, sentencing him to two years and six months in prison, but did not detain him in court. Former Director Im was sentenced to one year and six months in prison with a three-year probation, and former Blue House External Strategy Planning Officer Kim Tae-hyo (currently First Deputy Director of the National Security Office at the Presidential Office) was fined 10 million won.

The second trial acquitted Kim of the abuse of authority charge related to obstructing the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters' investigation into Cyber Command's political involvement, unlike the first trial, reducing his sentence by two months. Like the first trial, he was not detained in court. The sentence for former Director Im was upheld, and the fine of 3 million won for former Planning Officer Kim was suspended.

In October last year, the Supreme Court acquitted former Director Lee Tae-ha, who was sent to prosecution without detention by Kim, and remanded the case back to the Seoul High Court for retrial. Appeals by former Ministry of National Defense Director Im and former Planning Officer Kim were all dismissed, maintaining the guilty verdicts of the second trial. After the remand, former Minister Kim was appointed as a member of the Presidential Commission on Defense Innovation in May.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.