Regarding the ‘December 3 Martial Law’ incident, former Intelligence Commander Moon Sang-ho, who was arrested and charged with involvement in an important insurrection-related mission, claimed innocence in court. On the first trial preparation date held on the 4th at the Central Regional Military Court in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Moon’s defense attorney stated that they “do not acknowledge any of the charges, including conspiracy for insurrection, and deny all allegations presented by the military prosecution.”
The defense argued that “the defendant received tasks from the Intelligence Command as legitimate orders,” claiming that “the duties of the president, the Minister of National Defense, and other commanders, as advocated by the prosecution, were completely unknown to the defendant.” They also argued that the arrest conducted by the High-Ranking Officials Investigation Unit on December 18th last year was illegal.
The defense further stated, “At that time, the defendant was staying in accommodations within the military base, and investigators, knowing that they could not execute the arrest warrant within the base, lured the defendant to the ‘administrative information office’ under the pretense of confirming something as part of a guise, making the arrest both deceptive and illegal.”
In response, the military prosecution countered, saying, “There is no obligation to inform the defendant of the execution of the warrant when meeting them before the actual arrest commencing during the preparation phase,” and asserted that “the arrest and detention were properly conducted with warrants issued by the court.”
The court announced it would consider the military prosecution’s request to consolidate Moon’s trial with other insurrection-related cases being handled by the military court, including the one involving Army Chief of Staff Park An-su.
Commander Moon is accused of mobilizing armed personnel to the National Election Commission during the December 3 Martial Law situation, ordering the occupation of the Election Commission’s server room, and the arrest of its employees. He was formally arrested and indicted on these charges on the 6th of last month.