Kim Tae-hyo, former deputy chief, faces detention review over alleged martial law justification message

[Financial News] Kim Tae-hyo, the former first deputy director of the Office of National Security, is facing a detention decision amid allegations that he sent messages justifying martial law to allied countries during the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration.
Judge Boo Dong-sik of the Seoul Central District Court is holding the pretrial detention hearing for Kim from 10 a.m. on the 10th.
Before the hearing, Kim told reporters, "I will speak when I get the chance," when asked whether he admitted to sending messages to allied countries to justify martial law and whether he had acted on orders from former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Assistant Special Prosecutor Kwon Young-bin and Assistant Special Prosecutor Kim Ji-mi appeared for the special prosecution team led by Special Prosecutor Kwon Chang-young. Kwon said, "Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Korea confirmed that the government statement issued in connection with the emergency martial law was wrong," adding, "It has become clear that Kim's act of spreading messages justifying martial law abroad through Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials was also wrongful."
Kim is accused of delivering messages through diplomatic channels to allied countries, including the United States, to explain the legitimacy of the emergency martial law.
The special prosecution team suspects that former President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed Shin Won-sik, then director of the Office of National Security, and Kim to explain the background of the martial law declaration to allied countries, including the United States Ambassador to South Korea, immediately after the emergency martial law was declared.
The team believes the message said the emergency martial law was a measure to defend liberal democracy and that the opposition party had undermined the constitutional order.
It also suspects that Cho Tae-yong instructed that the explanation be delivered to the CIA, and that Hong Jang-won, then first deputy director of the NIS, received the report and approved it.
However, the special prosecution team did not seek an arrest warrant for Shin, then director of the Office of National Security, judging that his level of involvement was relatively minor.
[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter