Kim Bong-sik, the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, has requested a suspension of his imprisonment related to charges of participating in a coup and performing significant duties during a state of emergency.
According to legal sources on June 5, Kim submitted his request for suspension on June 2 to the Seoul High Court's dedicated coup trial division (Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-goo, and Kim Min-a). The reason for his request is reported to be attendance at a family event.
The suspension of imprisonment is a legal provision that allows for temporary release if the court recognizes urgent reasons, such as serious illness, childbirth, or attending a family funeral. The court plans to carefully review Kim's reasons before making a decision.
Kim was arrested and indicted in January of last year. He was granted bail during the first trial in June of the same year. However, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February and has remained in custody while awaiting further proceedings.
Born in 1967, Kim graduated from the National Police University and was appointed as an inspector in 1989. He has held various positions, including chief of the Daegu Dalseo and Dongbu Police Stations, head of the investigation division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, director of the National Police Agency's Investigation Bureau, and chief of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency. He was appointed as the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in August 2024. He faces charges for actively participating in the enforcement of martial law, including issuing orders to block the National Assembly's perimeter during the state of emergency declared on December 3 of the same year.
However, Kim, along with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and former Director of the Military Intelligence Command Noh Sang-won, filed a motion to disqualify the coup trial division last month. As a result, the trials for Kim and the remaining defendants, including former Police Chief Jo Ji-ho and former National Assembly Security Chief Mok Hyun-tae, are currently being conducted separately.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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