Special counsel accuses NIS of actively cooperating in ex-President Yoon's martial law bid

Assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi speaks during a regular briefing at special counsel Kwon Chang-young's office in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

A special counsel team on Monday accused the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of actively cooperating in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed 2024 martial law bid.

Special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team said it has recently detected signs that the NIS prepared a list of hundreds of individuals labeled as "security threats" at the time of Yoon's martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024. It did not elaborate on details of the list.

"(We) have found signs that the NIS actively participated in emergency martial law," assistant special counsel Kim Ji-mi said in a press briefing.

The team is looking into who ordered creating the list, including then NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, Kim said.

She added the NIS also chose officials to dispatch to the martial law command following Yoon's declaration.

The special counsel team was launched in February to investigate allegations surrounding Yoon, his failed martial law bid and his wife, which were not fully covered by previous special counsel investigations.