'Martial Law Hamburger Meeting' Former Generals Acquitted in First Trial: "Purpose to Subvert Constitutional Order Not Proven"

Six Officers Who Deployed Troops Also Acquitted: "We Only Followed Orders"

Former generals who attended the so-called “hamburger meeting” held ahead of the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration and were indicted on charges of taking on duties related to an insurrection were found not guilty in the first trial. Six former military officers accused of sending troops to the National Assembly and other locations on the day martial law was declared were also all acquitted.

Former 2nd Armored Brigade Commander Gu Samhoe (left) and former Director of Defense Innovation Planning Bang Jeonghwan. Yonhap News Agency

The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 38-2, presided over by Judges Jeong Suyeong, Choi Yeonggak and Jang Seongjin, found Gu Samhoe, former commander of the Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade and a brigadier general, and Bang Jeonghwan, former director of defense innovation planning and a brigadier general, not guilty on Oct. 30 of charges including performing an important role in an insurrection. The panel determined that the crime of insurrection was not established because the purpose of subverting the constitutional order had not been proven.

The key issue was the nature of the meeting. The special prosecutor team led by Jo Eunsuk said the two met with Roh Sangwon, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, at a Lotteria restaurant in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, hours before martial law was declared and conspired with him to impose martial law. The special prosecutor’s team argued that they were assigned duties related to the Second Investigation Unit, which was to investigate allegations of election fraud involving the National Election Commission.

The panel viewed the two men’s roles as limited. “The defendants appear to have been no more than nominal commanders of the investigation unit under the Joint Investigation Headquarters and to have been unaware of the details,” it said. The panel cited the fact that former Commander Roh did not convey specific details and that the two had never received documents about the duties they were expected to carry out.

The special prosecutor’s team and the court also differed in their views of the men’s actions after martial law was declared. The team argued that the two knew the actions were illegal because they had moved to a brigade under the Defense Intelligence Command and had been exposed to orders and reports from former Commander Roh’s side. The panel rejected the argument, saying there was no confirmation that the two received reports or issued orders there. It also noted that the Defense Intelligence Command troops gathered at the time did not even know the two were at the site.

Six others who were indicted alongside them on charges of sending troops into the National Assembly, the National Election Commission and a private polling firm on the day martial law was declared were also acquitted. They were Jeong Seongu, former director of defense innovation planning; Kim Jeonggeun, former commander of the Special Warfare Command’s 3rd Airborne Brigade; An Museong, former commander of the 9th Airborne Brigade; Kim Sangyong, former deputy chief of the Ministry of National Defense’s Criminal Investigation Command; Kim Changhak, former head of the military police group at the Capital Defense Command; and Kim Sewoon, former commander of the Special Operations Aviation Group. The panel said it could not find that they had intended to subvert the constitutional order, either. It concluded that they had not known about the martial law plan in advance and had simply followed orders from their superiors without clearly determining whether those orders were unconstitutional or illegal.

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