'False Signature Coercion Charge' Former Defense Minister Song Young-moo Acquitted in First Trial

Former Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo, who was tried on charges of forcing a subordinate to sign a false statement related to the martial law review document written during the impeachment phase of former President Park Geun-hye, was acquitted in the first trial.

Yonhap News

Kang Young-gi, judge of the Criminal Division 9 at the Seoul Western District Court, on the 19th, acquitted former Minister Song, former military aide to the Ministry of National Defense Jeong Hae-il, and former Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo, all of whom were indicted on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.

Former Minister Song is accused of, on July 9, 2018, during a minister-led meeting attended by 14 executives under the Moon Jae-in administration, stating that there was "no legal problem" regarding the martial law review document prepared by the Defense Security Command of the Park Geun-hye administration (currently the Defense Security Support Command), and after media reports surfaced, creating a fact-check confirmation letter stating "there is no such fact" and forcing the meeting attendees to sign it.

The court stated, "Considering the testimonies and other evidence, it can be seen that former Minister Song did not clearly distinguish between the curfew order and martial law at the time and used the terms interchangeably," adding, "There is no reasonable basis to believe that the Defense Security Command document was fabricated, and it appears credible, so the fact that he made statements at the meeting can be acknowledged." However, the court found no evidence that former Minister Song and others forced or conspired to compel the meeting attendees to write the fact-check confirmation letter.

The court explained, "Looking at the messages exchanged between former Minister Song and former aide Jeong after the accusation in August 2022, it is reasonable to conclude that they were not clearly aware of the existence of the fact-check confirmation letter before," and "Considering various circumstances, it cannot be concluded that the defendants conspired to respond to media reports or to prepare the fact-check confirmation letter."

Furthermore, the court stated, "The fact-check confirmation letter was merely a factual act of seeking confirmation from the meeting attendees during the process of collecting materials for public relations activities by former aide Jeong and former spokesperson Choi, and cannot be regarded as an exercise of official authority," adding, "Considering their positions, those who are in a cooperative relationship are not in a position to unilaterally order or force signatures."

Former Minister Song said to reporters on the day, "Justice has been served. There may be a second trial, but for now, I am happy," and added, "As a soldier and minister, I never thought politically and always worked for the country."

Earlier, the prosecution requested a sentence of two years in prison for former Minister Song and one year and six months in prison for former aide Jeong and former spokesperson Choi during the sentencing hearing held on the 15th of last month.

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