The trials for individuals recently indicted by the second special prosecutor team, led by Kwon Chang-young, are set to commence next month.
According to legal sources on August 15, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 38-3, presided over by Judges Choi Young-gak, Jang Sung-jin, and Jeong Soo-young, has scheduled the first pre-trial hearing for Kim Jong-wook, former head of the Coast Guard, and Ahn Seong-sik, former planning and coordination officer, for September 9 at 11 a.m.
Kim and Ahn are accused of abusing their authority during the declaration of a state of emergency by attempting to increase the personnel of the joint investigation headquarters and providing detention facilities for the Coast Guard. They also face charges of facilitating insurrection by dispatching an employee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a government liaison.
The pre-trial hearing is a procedural step to discuss evidence plans before the main trial, and the defendants are not required to attend.
On the same day, the court will also hold the first pre-trial hearing for Eun Woo Lee, former director of the Korea Policy Broadcasting (KTV), who is charged with insurrection propaganda, at 10 a.m.
Lee is accused of using KTV's news special reports and scrolling news programming to repeatedly disseminate information justifying insurrection activities, including the state of emergency and proclamations, from December 3 to December 13, 2024. He is also charged with selectively blocking and deleting information that criticized or hindered insurrection activities, thereby promoting insurrection among the general public.
Lee is already facing trial for charges related to the deletion of broadcast subtitles concerning the state of emergency. In June, the court sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for two years.
Yoo Byung-ho, an audit committee member accused of covering up the audit of the presidential residence relocation, is also scheduled for trial next month.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 23, presided over by Judge Oh Se-yong, will hold the first pre-trial hearing for Yoo, who is charged with abuse of authority, on September 29 at 4 p.m.
Yoo is alleged to have improperly intervened to downplay or conceal the audit results related to the relocation of the presidential residence during his tenure as the Secretary General of the Board of Audit and Inspection under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The special prosecutor's office requested an arrest warrant for Yoo on July 14, and the court issued the warrant six days later, citing concerns about evidence destruction. Recently, Yoo filed a request for a review of his detention, but the court rejected it.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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