‘Yoon and Conspiracy of Rebellion’ Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun Detained…Court "Prosecutor's Investigation Scope Recognized"

Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who is accused of conspiring with President Yoon Seok-yeol in an insurrection, was arrested on the 10th. This is the first case of detention by court ruling related to the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident.'

Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun

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Nam Cheon-gyu, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant around midnight for former Minister Kim, who is accused of engaging in important duties related to insurrection and obstructing the exercise of rights through abuse of authority. Judge Nam explained the reason for the issuance, stating, "I considered the degree of evidence for the criminal charges, the seriousness of the crime, and the risk of evidence destruction."

In particular, since the prosecution does not have investigative authority over insurrection charges, it has argued that by first investigating the abuse of authority charge, it can expand the scope of investigation to include related insurrection charges. The court's judgment was the same. Judge Nam stated that the charges against former Minister Kim "are judged to fall within the scope of crimes that the prosecutor can initiate an investigation into."

With the issuance of the first arrest warrant requested by the prosecution for those involved in the December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident, the investigation is expected to gain momentum. The Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law under the prosecution issued a statement immediately after the warrant was granted, saying, "We will closely cooperate with related agencies and conduct a strict investigation regardless of rank or status to uncover the full truth of this insurrection incident."

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