‘Non-Detention Indictment’ Kim Hyuntae, 707 Special Task Force Leader, and 2 Others Suspended from Duty

Park Heonsu, Director of the Investigation Headquarters,
and Lee Sanghyun, Commander of the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade,
Also Suspended from Duty

Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, commander of the 707th Special Mission Group, and two other generals and colonels who were indicted without detention in connection with the December 3 emergency martial law incident have been suspended from their duties.

On the 4th, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it had carried out separate dispatches to suspend the duties of three individuals: Park Heon-su, director of the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters (major general), Lee Sang-hyun, commander of the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade (brigadier general), and Colonel Kim.

Earlier, on the 28th of last month, the prosecution indicted without detention seven individuals, including Director Park Heon-su, Brigade Commander Lee Sang-hyun, Commander Kim Hyun-tae, Kim Dae-woo, head of the Counterintelligence Investigation Unit of the Republic of Korea Military Counterintelligence Command (brigadier general), Ko Dong-hee, chief of the Planning Department of the Republic of Korea Military Intelligence Command (colonel), Kim Bong-gyu, director of the Central News Unit (colonel), and Jung Sung-wook, commander of the 2nd Operations Unit of the 100th Brigade (colonel), on charges of participating in the blockade of the National Assembly and the operation of arrest squads during the martial law incident.

Kim Hyuntae, commander of the 707 Special Mission Group, is responding to questions from ruling party members at the National Assembly National Defense Committee plenary session on the 17th. The meeting was held under the authority of Chairman Seong Iljong amid the absence of opposition members, related to allegations of inducement by Democratic Party lawmakers. February 17, 2025 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Among them, Kim Dae-woo, Ko Dong-hee, Kim Bong-gyu, and Jung Sung-wook have already been suspended from their duties. The Ministry of National Defense stated, "Regarding the seven generals and colonels indicted without detention on the 28th of last month, we plan to review additional personnel measures such as dismissal from post and suspension during prosecution in accordance with relevant laws and regulations."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense had previously dismissed from post and suspended from duty during prosecution active-duty generals who were indicted on charges of engaging in important tasks related to the December 3 martial law incident, including former Republic of Korea Military Counterintelligence Command Commander Yeo In-hyung, former Army Special Warfare Command Commander Kwak Jong-geun, former Army Capital Defense Command Commander Lee Jin-woo, and former Republic of Korea Military Intelligence Command Commander Moon Sang-ho.

In the case of Army Chief of Staff Park An-su, the dismissal review committee is composed of at least three members, each of whom must be a superior or senior to the subject of the dismissal review according to the Enforcement Decree of the Military Personnel Act. Therefore, dismissal from post was not carried out, and only suspension during prosecution was implemented. This is because Park’s only superior is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo.

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