Arrest Warrant Dismissed for Former Ground Operations Commander Kang Hopil on Rebellion Charges

"Room for Dispute Over the Allegations"

The arrest warrant for former Army Ground Operations Commander Kang Hopil, who is suspected of involvement in the 12·3 Martial Law, has been dismissed.

Kang Hopil, former Commander of the Republic of Korea Army Ground Operations Command, was leaving the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 13th after attending a pretrial detention hearing regarding allegations of involvement in a rebellion. Yonhap News Agency

According to legal sources on July 14, Lee Jongrok, the presiding judge in charge of rebellion-related warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, held a pretrial detention hearing for Kang on the previous day, who is accused of engaging in key rebellion duties. The judge dismissed the arrest warrant, stating, "There is room for dispute regarding the alleged crime, and considering the progress of the investigation, it is difficult to see a risk of evidence destruction or flight."

Kang is accused of organizing an internal situation room at the Ground Operations Command, and directing the assembly of the crisis response team and all command staff after the declaration of the 12·3 Martial Law. The second Joint Special Prosecutor’s team believes that Kang participated in the martial law by converting the Ground Operations Command into a martial law response system.

There are also suspicions that he was involved from the planning stage of the martial law. Former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong referred to the Ground Operations Commander, Special Warfare Commander, Capital Defense Commander, and Counterintelligence Commander collectively as "JTSP," noting in memos such as, "This is the consensus of JTSP," and "The four are determined."

However, the earlier special prosecution team led by Cho Eunsuk, which initially investigated Kang, concluded that the Ground Operations Command did not actually deploy troops or carry out specific operations, and therefore excluded Kang from indictment.

Kang is also reported to have denied the allegations during the warrant hearing on this day, insisting that he was not aware of the martial law in advance and had no involvement in its execution.

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