A Seoul Central District Court has acquitted eight former military officers charged over their roles during the December 3 emergency martial law operation. The defendants included former 2nd Armored Brigade commander Koo Sam-hoe and former defense innovation planning director Bang Jeong-hwan. Prosecutors alleged that they deployed troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission or carried out related missions.
The court accepted that the officers had moved troops or performed duties connected to martial law. It nevertheless found insufficient proof that they understood the operation to be unconstitutional, unlawful, or aimed at disrupting the constitutional order when they received their sudden assignments. The court also said evidence was lacking that they had known about a martial law plan in advance or intended to participate in an insurrection.
The ruling follows earlier first-instance acquittals for former Defense Ministry investigation chief Park Heon-su and former Defense Intelligence Command planning chief Ko Dong-hee on similar grounds. Because the charge of participating in an important role in an insurrection carries a severe punishment, the courts are examining each defendant’s intent and degree of involvement closely rather than treating the execution of superior orders as conclusive proof.
The decision could affect pending trials involving other military officials indicted by the special counsel, including former Capital Defense Command security group commander Cho Seong-hyun and former Army legal affairs chief Kim Sang-hwan. Future proceedings are likely to focus on when each defendant became aware of an alleged purpose to disrupt the constitutional order, and whether transmitting or carrying out orders alone establishes criminal participation.