The special counsel's office investigating the insurrection (Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok) has sought a five-year prison sentence for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was additionally indicted on charges including incitement to destroy evidence related to the emergency martial law.
The special counsel made the request at a sentencing hearing held Wednesday before the 34th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Han Seong-jin, on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception.
"Providing an encrypted phone to Noh Sang-won, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command and a civilian at the time, was not a simple personal crime but one that shook national security," the special counsel said. "He instructed an aide to destroy and damage a laptop and mobile phone necessary for uncovering the substance of the martial law."
The special counsel continued: "By destroying a large amount of martial law-related evidence, he made it difficult to establish the substantive truth in criminal trials against former President Yoon Suk-yeol and numerous accomplices." The prosecution added that Kim "showed not a single instance of apology or remorse, insulted the court during proceedings, improperly delayed litigation, and made a mockery of the judicial process."
The special counsel also emphasized that favorable sentencing factors such as being a first-time offender cannot be recognized. "Obstruction of official duties by deception and incitement to destroy evidence are martial law-related crimes — grave offenses unlikely to occur easily in one's lifetime — and it would be unjust to consider this a favorable sentencing factor," the prosecution noted. The remark appeared to reference the first-instance trial of former President Yoon on special obstruction of official duties charges, where the court considered his clean criminal record as a favorable sentencing factor.
In his final statement, Kim said: "In the various trials related to the emergency martial law, people talk about political trials, trial by public opinion, and even 'predetermined-verdict trials.'" He added: "I will fight to the end — not to win, but to leave in history the fact that I did not submit."
"December 5, 2024, was a special day for me. It was my final moment wrapping up my duties as defense minister and leaving the military forever," Kim said. "It was merely a matter of organizing various security-related work materials that had accumulated over time, and had nothing to do with evidence destruction."
The court closed arguments and set the sentencing date for May 19 at 2 p.m.
Kim was additionally indicted for deceiving the Presidential Security Service on December 2, 2024 — one day before the emergency martial law — to obtain an encrypted phone, which he then delivered to former Commander Noh, and for ordering an aide surnamed Yang, who had served as his personal secretary, to destroy martial law-related materials immediately after the declaration. Kim was found guilty of participation in key insurrection duties at his first-instance trial in February this year and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.