Appeals court upholds 18-month prison term for ex-presidential aide over martial law document
Former Presidential Secretary Kang Eui-gu appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, April 8, to attend his trial on charges of creating a false official document in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid. Joint Press Corps
An appellate court on Monday upheld an 18-month prison term for a former presidential secretary for drafting a false document linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.
The Seoul High Court upheld the lower court's ruling that found Kang Eui-gu guilty on charges of creating a false official document by drafting a cover of Yoon's martial law proclamation, three days after his declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
The appellate court ruled that Kang had drafted the document and collected the signatures of Yoon, then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, to give Yoon's proclamation an appearance of procedural legitimacy.
"The defendant was aware that the date of signing by Yoon Suk Yeol and others differed from the actual date the document was drafted," the court said.
A special counsel team indicted Kang over the martial law document in December. He was immediately taken into custody and imprisoned after the lower court ruling in May.