Former President Yoon Seok-yeol Faces Legal Battle Over Insurrection Charges

Former President Yoon Seok-yeol engaged in a legal dispute with the special prosecutor's team, led by Jo Eun-seok, regarding insurrection charges. Yoon's defense argued that the procedure for transferring the case from the prosecution's emergency martial law investigation unit to the special prosecutor was flawed and therefore invalid. The special prosecutor's team countered that this claim was 'unfounded.'

On July 3, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25, presided over by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, held the ninth hearing in Yoon's insurrection case. Before the trial commenced, Yoon's legal team contended that the transfer of the insurrection case from the prosecution to the special prosecutor was invalid. They asserted that the special prosecutor only requested a 'handover' of the case, not a 'transfer.'

Attorney Wi Hyun-seok for Yoon explained, 'In the special prosecutor law, a 'handover' refers to receiving a case under investigation, while a 'transfer' pertains to taking over cases that are already in the prosecution phase.' He emphasized the need to distinguish between the two processes, arguing that the transfer was not legally compliant and thus void.

In response, Special Prosecutor Park Eok-soo stated, 'A request for a handover inherently includes a request for a transfer,' labeling Yoon's argument as 'incomprehensible in light of the law and common sense.' Prosecutor Jo Jae-cheol, assigned to the special prosecutor's office, described the defense's interpretation as a misreading of the special prosecutor law.

During the hearing, Colonel Go Dong-hee, former head of the Planning Department of the Defense Intelligence Command, testified. He was involved in securing the server room at the Central Election Management Commission in Gyeonggi Province during the martial law period. He was indicted without detention in February for his alleged participation in the insurrection.

Colonel Go recounted receiving orders from then-Intelligence Commander Moon Sang-ho around 5 PM on December 3, just five hours before the martial law was declared, instructing him to prepare for a mission at the Central Election Management Commission. When asked about the specifics of the mission, he stated, 'The directive was to control access to the commission and confirm the location of the server room, then to guard it.'

He further testified that around 9:24 PM, he received a call from Commander Moon, who informed him that a breaking news report would air at 10 PM, indicating when they should act. Following the orders, Colonel Go entered the server room, took photographs, and ensured that the staff could work without using their phones to contact the outside.

Upon returning to his unit the next morning, Colonel Go expressed feeling uneasy about being involved in questionable activities, instructing his team to 'destroy the group chat immediately; we seem to be caught up in something strange.' The court plans to conclude Colonel Go's testimony in the next session and continue questioning related to the server's removal from the commission.