Why was Moon Sang-ho acquitted in the Seoul Central District Court case over military secrets leaked to Noh Sang-won?

The court found there was insufficient evidence to prove that Moon's remarks gave Noh information beyond what Noh already knew. The case centered on phone-call comments about special forces, missions, equipment, and instructions from then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

What was Moon Sang-ho's separate sentence related to Defense Intelligence Command agents?

Moon was sentenced in June to two years in prison for colluding with Kim Yong-hyun to provide Noh Sang-won with the personal details of about 40 DIC agents. Those agents were later assigned to investigate allegations of election fraud under the short-lived martial law.

Ex-commander acquitted of military secrets leak ahead of martial law

Q: What did investigators say Moon Sang-ho told Noh Sang-won before the 2024 martial law declaration?

Investigators said Moon used phrases such as special forces, mission and equipment, I report to you about our missions due to request from Kim, and Kim told us to get ready. Those remarks were cited as the basis for the leaked-secrets indictment.

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Summary

Moon Sang-ho, former head of the Defense Intelligence Command, was acquitted by a court Friday in Seoul of leaking military secrets to Noh Sang-won ahead of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's 2024 martial law declaration. The Seoul Central District Court said there was insufficient evidence that Moon's remarks gave Noh information beyond what he already knew. Moon had been indicted over remarks about classified missions and directives from then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Dec. 2, 2024. He was separately sentenced in June to two years in prison for colluding with Kim to provide Noh with personal details of about 40 DIC agents.

Key Facts

Moon was indicted for allegedly leaking information about classified military missions and directives issued by then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on Dec. 2, 2024.
Investigators said Moon made remarks including special forces, mission and equipment, I report to you about our missions due to request from Kim, and Kim told us to get ready during a phone call with Noh Sang-won.
The court said there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Moon's remarks gave Noh information beyond what Noh already knew.
Moon was separately sentenced in June to a two-year prison term for colluding with Kim to provide Noh with the personal details of about 40 DIC agents.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 11, 2026 5:04 pm KST

Moon Sang-ho, former head of the Defense Intelligence Command answers questions regarding the circumstances surrounding the deployment of troops to the National Election Commission during a plenary session of the National Assembly, Dec. 10, 2024. Yonhap

Moon Sang-ho, former head of the Defense Intelligence Command (DIC), was acquitted by a court Friday of leaking military secrets to Noh Sang-won, his predecessor as DIC chief, ahead of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law in 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the ruling after finding Moon not guilty of leaking military secrets to Noh.

Moon was indicted for leaking information about classified military missions and directives issued by then Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to Noh on Dec. 2, 2024, just one day before Yoon declared martial law.

Investigators found that Moon made remarks such as "special forces, mission and equipment," "I report to you about our missions (due to request from Kim)" and "(Kim) told us to get ready" during a phone call with Noh.

But the court said there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Moon's remarks provided Noh with information beyond what the latter already knew.

Separately, Moon was sentenced to a two-year prison term in June for colluding with Kim to provide Noh with the personal details of about 40 DIC agents, who were later assigned to investigating allegations of election fraud under the short-lived martial law.

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