Cho Sung-hyun, a former colonel and commander of the 1st Guard Brigade of the Army Capital Defense Command, who is charged with relaying orders for military deployment to the National Assembly during the December 3 martial law, denied any intent to participate in an insurrection or disrupt the constitution during his first formal trial.
The court demanded that Cho clarify his understanding of the situation from the moment he received the deployment order until he directed troops to enter the National Assembly.
On November 12, the 38-1 Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judges Jang Seong-jin, Jeong Soo-young, and Choi Yeong-gak, held the first hearing on Cho's charges of important duties related to insurrection.
The court specifically asked Cho if he did not recognize the unconstitutionality of the order he received at 11:47 PM on December 3, 2024, from former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo to control access to the National Assembly, and what he understood the purpose of the access control to be.
Cho's defense team stated that they believed a special situation had arisen within the National Assembly, making it difficult to assess the legality of the orders from superiors at that time.
In response, the court questioned, "Didn’t you confirm that it was not a counter-terrorism situation on-site? Why did you think citizens were blocking the doors of the National Assembly and preventing troop entry?" The court also requested a written explanation for why Cho ordered troops to breach the National Assembly's walls.
Cho is accused of attempting to obstruct the National Assembly's resolution to lift martial law by relaying orders from Commander Lee to the 2nd Special Operations Battalion and the 35th Special Operations Battalion immediately after the declaration of martial law.
The second comprehensive special prosecutor team, led by Kwon Chang-young, determined that Cho recognized the purpose of disrupting the constitution and deployed troops, leading to his indictment without detention on August 19.
The defense attorney stated, "We completely deny the allegations that he was tasked with removing all personnel from the National Assembly and that he had any intent to participate in an insurrection or recognized the purpose of disrupting the constitution."
Additionally, the attorney argued that only seven pages of the 22-page indictment pertained to Cho, claiming violations of the principle of indictment and abuse of prosecutorial authority. They requested the indictment be dismissed or, alternatively, a not guilty verdict.
Previously, the insurrection special prosecutor team, led by Jo Eun-seok, had concluded that Cho passively executed or refused to follow orders from superiors. He received the Order of National Security Merit in September of last year for instructing follow-up troops not to cross the Seogang Bridge while heading to the National Assembly.
The comprehensive special prosecutor team believes that Cho changed his stance after the National Assembly passed a resolution to lift martial law.
Meanwhile, the court pointed out that the comprehensive special prosecutor included statements in their opinion that the defense did not agree to use as evidence. The court stated, "You cannot do this," and ordered the prosecutor to resubmit the opinion excluding the related materials.
The court plans to complete witness examinations by December 10 and conclude arguments after the defendant's examination and documentary investigation on the 31st. However, additional dates may be scheduled if the hearings are not completed.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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