Kim Yong-hyun Facing Detention on 'Rebellion Charges'... Arrest Warrant Hearing Ends in 20 Minutes (Comprehensive)

The detention hearing (warrant review) for former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who led the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law Incident,' ended in 20 minutes with only the prosecution present.

Nam Cheon-gyu, the warrant judge at the Seoul Central District Court, held the warrant review for former Minister Kim at around 3:05 p.m. on the 10th on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and obstruction of the exercise of rights by abuse of authority.

Only three prosecutors from the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law appeared in court. Earlier, former Minister Kim, through his lawyer, expressed the position that "all responsibility lies solely with me," then waived the warrant review and did not appear. His lawyer also did not come to court.

Accordingly, only the prosecutors explained to the court the necessity of detention for investigation of former Minister Kim, and the review concluded around 3:26 p.m. The court plans to decide on detention based solely on the detention warrant application and evidence submitted by the prosecution, assessing the necessity of securing custody.

The result is expected to be announced later that afternoon or early morning on the 11th. Observers suggest that the possibility of issuing a detention warrant has increased as former Minister Kim voluntarily waived his opportunity to exercise his right to defense.

If former Minister Kim is detained, the investigation is expected to expand to include President Yoon. It is reported that the prosecution filed the detention warrant viewing former Minister Kim as a key participant in the rebellion and President Yoon as effectively the ringleader of the rebellion.

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