The Special Prosecutors' Team led by Kwon Chang-young has indicted Colonel Cho Sung-hyun, former commander of the 1st Guard Brigade of the Army Capital Defense Command, for his involvement in insurrection. This comes despite his previous recognition for contributing to the early termination of martial law by instructing his unit not to cross the Seogang Bridge during the emergency declaration on December 3, 2024.
On August 19, the Special Prosecutors' Team announced that Colonel Cho was indicted without detention on charges of performing important duties related to insurrection. Additionally, Hong Chang-sik, former legal officer of the Ministry of National Defense, was indicted for dereliction of duty, and Kim Sang-hwan, former head of the Army Legal Affairs Office, was indicted for participating in insurrection-related activities, also without detention.
The Special Prosecutors' Team stated, "Colonel Cho is accused of deploying troops to the National Assembly despite knowing it was an illegal martial law. Hong Chang-sik failed to provide any legal advice to the minister and deputy minister, while Kim Sang-hwan is charged with departing to fulfill his duties as the legal officer of the martial law command, despite being aware of its illegality."
Colonel Cho is alleged to have communicated orders from former Army Capital Defense Command Chief Lee Jin-woo to his subordinate units, the 2nd Special Operations Battalion and the 35th Special Operations Battalion, to mobilize troops to the National Assembly immediately after the martial law was declared. He is also accused of instructing troops waiting at the Seogang Bridge to prepare for action, stating, "Gather your riot gear and proceed. The mission is to extract personnel from inside the National Assembly."
Furthermore, it is reported that a recorded phone call was obtained, in which Colonel Cho responded, "Loyalty, we will continue the operation," after receiving a call from a person believed to be former Chief Lee at around 11:50 PM that day.
Previously, Colonel Cho had instructed his units not to cross the Seogang Bridge. The Special Prosecutors' Team believes that he initially supported the illegal martial law operation but changed his stance after a resolution demanding the termination of martial law was passed in the National Assembly the following morning.
This indictment without detention marks a significant reversal from previous assessments by investigative agencies and the government. Colonel Cho had previously testified in the Constitutional Court impeachment trial that he received orders from Chief Lee to enter the National Assembly but deemed the mission's purpose unclear, prompting him to request a review and instruct subsequent units to withdraw.
As a result, the previous insurrection investigation team, led by Jo Eun-seok, concluded that Colonel Cho had passively responded to orders from superiors and ultimately refused them, leading to a decision not to charge him. The Ministry of National Defense under the Lee Jae-myung administration also recognized Colonel Cho's contributions, awarding him the Order of National Security Merit in September of last year.
However, the Special Prosecutors' Team, upon re-investigating the case, determined that Colonel Cho could not evade responsibility for participating in insurrection, given that he deployed troops to the National Assembly while aware of the martial law's illegality.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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