Former South Korean minister jailed for three years over martial law case

A court in South Korea has sentenced former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun to three years in prison after finding him guilty of offences linked to the country’s brief imposition of emergency martial law.

Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 delivered the ruling on the 19th, concluding that Kim had unlawfully provided a secure communications device and later ordered the destruction of potentially relevant evidence, Caliber.Az reports, citing Korean media.

The court found that Kim supplied a Presidential Security Service-managed secure phone to former Army Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won on 2 December 2024, one day before the martial law declaration. At the time, Noh was a civilian.

Prosecutors alleged the move constituted obstruction of official duties through fraud, a charge the court upheld.

Kim was also convicted of instigating the destruction of evidence after instructing an aide on 5 December to dispose of materials, including a laptop and documents believed to be related to the martial law declaration. The order came after the National Assembly voted to lift martial law.

In its ruling, the court said witnesses indicated Kim, as both defence minister and former head of the Presidential Security Service, would have been fully aware of the secure phone’s purpose and that its transfer was carried out at his request.

On the evidence destruction charge, the court described Kim’s claims that he had not stored the martial law text on a laptop as “highly unusual”, adding that related materials were likely copied and retained, including data received via USB from Noh Sang-won concerning military intelligence personnel.

The court also noted that no such materials were recovered during searches of the defence minister’s official residence, reinforcing its conclusion that evidence had been deliberately destroyed or concealed.

It stressed that Kim, despite holding a senior position requiring high ethical standards, had abused his authority in a manner that obstructed official duties and hindered efforts to establish the full circumstances surrounding the martial law episode.

Following the verdict, Kim’s legal team said it intended to appeal, arguing the case had been “hastily fabricated” and challenging the legality of the indictment brought by the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov