Photo : YONHAP News
The special counsel team that looked into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration is seeking a five-year prison sentence for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
The team, led by special counsel Cho Eun-seok, asked the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday to issue the sentence for Kim for allegedly handing over the personal information of some 40 agents serving in the military’s intelligence command to former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won.
Prosecutors accused Kim of conspiring with subordinates to hand over the classified information without proper authorization to Noh, who was a private citizen at the time, having retired from active service several years earlier.
Prosecutors said Kim and Noh had sought to create an unauthorized undercover investigation team tasked with examining unfounded allegations that the 2024 parliamentary elections had been rigged.
Prosecutors said the plan had been to form the team once then-President Yoon Seok Yeol imposed martial law in December 2024.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld a two-year prison sentence for Noh for illegally obtaining the personal information of agents serving in the military’s intelligence command.