Ex-Presidential Aide Jailed for Forging Martial Law Document

A former senior official at the presidential office, Kang Eui-gu, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his involvement in fabricating a martial law declaration document after the fact. The Seoul Central District Court found Kang guilty of forging official documents and violating the Presidential Records Act.

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The defendant, as a Grade 1 senior official closely assisting the president, should have properly assisted the president's duties.

The court determined that Kang participated in creating a cover page for a post-dated martial law declaration to conceal procedural irregularities in the original declaration. Kang's defense argued the document was for internal records only, but the court rejected this, stating that creating a new cover page for a signature suggested preparation for potential public disclosure.

The court also recognized that the document qualified as a presidential record and that Kang had conspired with former President Yoon to destroy it, thus upholding the Presidential Records Act violation charge. However, Kang was acquitted of using the forged document, as merely keeping it in his desk drawer was not deemed sufficient evidence of its use.

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Given the ongoing questions about the unconstitutionality and illegality of the martial law declaration, and the impeachment proceedings at the time, the defendant created a false document to conceal procedural flaws.

In its sentencing, the court emphasized Kang's position as a high-ranking official responsible for assisting the president. It highlighted the serious context of ongoing questions about the constitutionality of the martial law declaration and the impeachment proceedings against the president at the time. The court stated that Kang's actions to conceal procedural flaws by creating a false document carried significant guilt.

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The defendant played a key role in the various crimes of this case, including creating the cover page and obtaining signatures without prior instruction.

Despite Kang's plea that he had no intention of destroying evidence or fleeing, the court ordered his immediate detention, citing the non-trivial sentence of 18 months and the possibility of flight risk, especially as Kang had contested the charges during the trial. Kang was indicted for allegedly creating the false cover page after the martial law was lifted, intending to conceal the illegitimacy of the declaration, and for illegally destroying the document at the request of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as the investigation into sedition intensified.

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I have no intention of destroying evidence or fleeing.