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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Ex-President Yoon, Ex-Advisor Indicted Over Martial Law Justification

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A special prosecutor's team indicted former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik on charges related to justifying martial law to allied nations.
  • The team argues that the end of the alleged insurrection was marked by the parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon, applying charges including engaging in important insurrectionary duties.
  • Shin is accused of colluding with another official to send messages to six countries and the EU defending the martial law declaration, aiming to secure U.S. support and prolong the state of emergency.

A special prosecutor's team has indicted former President Yoon Suk-yeol and ex-National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik on charges of justifying martial law to allied nations. The indictment alleges that Shin, following Yoon's instructions, conspired with former First Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo to send messages to the U.S., Japan, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the European Union between December 3 and 5, 2024.

This measure is to protect liberal democracy.

— Shin Won-sik (allegedly)Messages sent to allied nations, allegedly on behalf of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and Shin Won-sik, to justify the declaration of martial law.

These messages, disseminated through National Security Office and Foreign Ministry officials, reportedly aimed to frame the martial law declaration as a measure to protect liberal democracy. The special prosecutor's team considers the insurrection to have ended on December 14, 2024, when the National Assembly passed Yoon's impeachment motion, suspending his duties. This timeline means that propaganda efforts to legitimize martial law, even after its lifting, are viewed as participation in the insurrection.

Shin faces additional charges for engaging in important insurrectionary duties. Prosecutors believe he tacitly agreed to Yoon's directives and actively worked to legitimize the insurrection by officially informing the U.S., seeking its support to maintain and strengthen the state of emergency. Both Yoon and Shin are also charged with abuse of power for allegedly ordering foreign ministry officials to disseminate factually distorted messages, compelling them to perform actions they were not obligated to undertake.

The end of the insurrection was the parliamentary vote to impeach President Yoon.

— Special Prosecutor's TeamThe team's determination of the timeline for the alleged insurrection, leading to charges against Yoon and Shin.

This differs from the stance of a previous special prosecutor's team, which argued that the insurrection ended on December 4, 2024, when martial law was lifted, citing a Supreme Court precedent from the Chun Doo-hwan insurrection case. The differing interpretations of the insurrection's end date highlight a key point of contention between the two investigative bodies.

The outcome may have been influenced by decisions made nearly a thousand miles away in Rome.

— Tom LicenceProfessor of Medieval History and Literature at the University of East Anglia, commenting on the influence of papal politics on the Norman conquest of England.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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