Arrest Warrant Dismissed for Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Kim Myungsoo on Rebellion Charges... Three Joint Chiefs Officials Detained

Court Cites "Disputable Main Charges"
Jeong Jinpal, Lee Jaesik, and Kim Heungjun Detained for "Risk of Evidence Destruction"

The arrest warrant for Kim Myungsoo, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is accused of participating in the rebellion during the 12·3 Martial Law, has been dismissed. In contrast, three other Joint Chiefs officials charged with the same offense—Jeong Jinpal, former Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; Lee Jaesik, former Inspection Director for Combat Readiness at the Joint Chiefs; and Kim Heungjun, former Policy Chief at Army Headquarters—have all been detained.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Myungsoo Kim is speaking as he arrives at the 2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecution in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 27th to be questioned as a suspect on charges including engaging in important duties during insurrection. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on June 15, presiding judge Budong-sik of the Seoul Central District Court, who is in charge of warrants related to rebellion charges, conducted a pretrial detention hearing for Kim, who is accused of involvement in major internal affairs. After the review, the judge rejected the arrest warrant.

Judge Bu stated the reason for dismissal, saying, "There is room for dispute regarding the main criminal charges, necessitating protection of the right to defense, and there is no concern about flight risk or destruction of evidence." On the other hand, for Jeong, Lee, and Kim, who were reviewed together, the judge issued arrest warrants, citing concerns over destruction of evidence.

Kim underwent the pretrial detention hearing for about one hour and fifty minutes starting from 9:30 a.m. that day. After the review, he left the court without responding to reporters' questions such as "Do you acknowledge not stopping the Minister of National Defense as the highest-ranking military officer at the time?", "Did you issue an order prioritizing martial law affairs?", and "Do you admit to participating in the rebellion?"

They are suspected of being involved in forming the Martial Law Command in the Joint Chiefs' command and control room and monitoring the situation as the military was deployed to the National Assembly and other locations after the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024.

Kwon Changyoung's 2nd Comprehensive Special Investigation Team believes that Kim issued a brief order to the Special Warfare Command and Capital Defense Command—both of which had been mobilized to the National Assembly at the time—directing them to "prioritize martial law affairs," thereby supporting the implementation of martial law. The investigation team questioned Kim as a suspect on the 27th of last month and requested arrest warrants for the individuals on June 9.

Kim has consistently denied the allegations. He claims that since the troops dispatched to the National Assembly were under the command of the then-Minister of National Defense, he, as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was not in a position to exercise operational command.

Regarding suspicions of preparing for a second martial law, Kim's side has also explained, "The assessment of available forces in rear units was not for additional deployment, but rather a measure to monitor and block any arbitrary troop movements by the Martial Law Command in real time."

Special Prosecutor Kim Jeongmin, prior to the hearing, commented on Kim's defense, saying, "It is contrary to common sense," and added, "The highest-ranking active-duty military officer is making excuses for having done nothing about this situation. The special investigation team intends to clarify in this review that it was not a case where nothing could be done."

The investigation team has designated the suspected involvement of the Joint Chiefs officials in the martial law incident as the "First Recognized Case" and is continuing its investigation by booking Kim and others as suspects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.