Ex-military counterintelligence chief arrested over martial law
Former Defense Counterintelligence Command Chief Yeo In-hyung attends a meeting of the Intelligence Committee at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Dec. 7. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-kwon
Yeo In-hyung, former chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, was arrested, Saturday, for his involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. He is the second high-ranking official to be detained following the arrest of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Yeo is accused of orchestrating operations to deploy military and police forces to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission (NEC).
Evidence suggests he ordered the immediate arrests of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and key political leaders as the legislature was poised to vote to lift the martial law.
A special task force, led by prosecutor Park Se-hyun, investigating the martial law declaration, charged Yeo with insurrection and abuse of authority. A military prosecutor assigned to the task force filed a pretrial detention warrant with the Central Military Court, as Yeo is still an active-duty officer.
The court issued the warrant at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 14, citing "the severity of the crimes and the risk of flight."
Yeo did not attend his pretrial hearing and issued a statement instead.
"I believe attending the hearing would not be in the best interest of the public or my subordinates. I fully accept responsibility for my actions and the resulting consequences, and I will face the legal repercussions accordingly."
Under Article 87 of the Criminal Code, insurrection charges apply to those who conspire, lead, or carry out acts aimed at overthrowing the constitutional order or government authority.
Prosecutors have classified Yeo as a key conspirator in the crisis, placing him in the second tier of offenders responsible for carrying out essential duties.
Prosecutors allege that Yeo played a pivotal role in the martial law operations initiated on the night of Dec. 3.
He allegedly relayed a list of 14 individuals to be detained, including Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung, and People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon, instructing subordinates to transfer them to a detention facility controlled by the Capital Defense Command.
Prosecutors also highlighted orders to prepare detention facilities and directives to prioritize the arrests of the Assembly speaker and party leaders shortly before lawmakers were scheduled to vote to lift the martial law.
The investigation is focused on whether Yeo's actions were intended to obstruct the National Assembly’s efforts to revoke the martial law. Prosecutors have uncovered evidence of multiple calls made by Yeo to ensure the swift arrests of the Assembly speaker, as well as the leaders of the DPK and PPP just 20 minutes before the legislature’s emergency vote.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.