Special Investigation Requests Arrest Warrant for Kim Tae-hyo over ‘Martial Law Justification Messages’

Charged with Major Insurrection-Related Duties and Abuse of Power
Arrest Warrant Not Requested for Former Director Shin Wonsik

The second comprehensive special investigation team, led by Kwon Changyoung, has taken steps to secure the custody of Kim Tae-hyo, former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, who is under suspicion for allegedly justifying martial law.

On July 7, the comprehensive special investigation team announced that it had requested an arrest warrant for former Deputy Director Kim on charges of carrying out major insurrection-related duties and abuse of power by obstructing the exercise of rights.

(Gwacheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Juhyung Kim = Kim Taehyo, former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, is appearing at the office of the Second Comprehensive Special Investigation Team led by Kwon Changyoung, located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 15, 2026.

Former Deputy Director Kim is suspected of instructing a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official to deliver messages to major allied countries, including the United States, after the December 3 Martial Law, asserting the legitimacy of the declaration of martial law.

The messages reportedly included statements such as: "This measure is to protect liberal democracy," "The National Assembly attempted to paralyze the executive branch and substantially destroy the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea through impeachment motions and budget cuts, so this was a political action taken within constitutional boundaries in response," and "President Yoon maintains a stance against pro-North leftists and anti-Americanism."

A special investigation team official explained, "We decided not to request an arrest warrant for former National Security Office Director Shin Wonsik, as his degree of involvement in the case was relatively minor."

The pretrial detention hearing to decide whether former Deputy Director Kim will be detained is expected to be held as early as the latter part of this week.

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