On August 19, four former officials of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), including former Director Cho Tae-yong and former First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won, have been charged with insurrection-related offenses.
According to Yonhap News, the second special prosecutor's team announced that Cho, Hong, former Second Deputy Director Hwang Won-jin, and former Planning and Coordination Director Kim Nam-woo have been indicted without detention on charges of important duties related to insurrection and abuse of authority under the National Intelligence Service Act.
Cho is accused of giving comprehensive instructions to NIS employees regarding emergency response during the martial law and of conveying explanations to U.S. intelligence agencies that supported the martial law.
The special prosecutors believe that the National Security Office sent a document to the NIS the day after the martial law was declared, instructing them to explain the background of the martial law to allied countries. They have determined that, under Cho's direction, the overseas department explained the situation to the head of the CIA in South Korea. The prosecutors also assert that Hong was informed of and approved this process.
Hong is also facing allegations of holding a departmental meeting on the day of the martial law to establish a communication network with the Military Counterintelligence Command and the National Police Agency. The special prosecutors have applied charges for directing NIS personnel to be sent to the police situation room.
Hong's side contends that the meeting was merely to organize departmental tasks and the martial law response manual, denying any involvement in insurrection.
Former Deputy Director Hwang is accused of considering sending personnel to the joint investigation headquarters of the martial law and directing the selection of investigation targets in preparation for the restoration of the NIS's counterintelligence authority. Former Director Kim has been indicted for directing the selection of personnel to be dispatched to the martial law situation room at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Earlier, the special prosecutors conducted a search and seizure of the NIS server in April, investigating 71 current and former employees as witnesses and 11 as suspects.
Former Deputy Director Yoon O-jun, who was also implicated, was cleared of charges. Six former department heads and officials received deferred prosecution for cooperating with the investigation.
The special prosecutors previously charged former Capital Defense Command First Guard Commander Cho Sung-hyun with insurrection-related duties for restricting the entry of troops moving to the National Assembly during the martial law.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.