Korea's intelligence agency gave materials justifying martial law to CIA following insurrection

Investigators found that Korea’s intelligence agency sought to justify the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration to the United States by delivering explanatory materials to the CIA.

A special counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young announced on Wednesday that it had secured overseas briefing materials during an April raid on the National Intelligence Service (NIS). The documents reportedly contained explanations defending the background and legitimacy of the martial law declaration.

Investigators later questioned more than 40 NIS officials and uncovered specific allegations of involvement in insurrection-related activities.

It found that on the morning of Dec. 4, 2024 — one day after the martial law declaration — the Office of National Security from the presidential office  sent the NIS a Korean-language document instructing it to “explain the background of the martial law declaration to allied countries.”

Following instructions from then-NIS chief Cho Tae-yong, former NIS deputy director Hong Jang-won translated the material into English. Investigators believe the agency then summoned the CIA station chief in Korea to the NIS headquarters and directly explained the contents of the document.

The special counsel team believes Hong, who oversaw overseas operations at the time, was briefed on the entire process and gave final approval.

Investigators subsequently booked six senior political appointees within the intelligence agency’s leadership, including Cho and Hong, on charges of participating in key insurrection-related duties.

The special counsel team plans to summon Hong as a suspect for questioning on Friday and focus on how the materials were received from the Office of the National Security and whether Hong was involved in delivering them to the CIA.

Hong, however, has fully denied the allegations.

“I never instructed or received reports about those matters,” Hong claimed. “Someone is making false statements.”

The investigation is also expanding into broader allegations surrounding involvement in the martial law declaration and an alleged second attempt to impose it.

Investigators questioned Jeong Jin-pal, former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) vice chairman, as a suspect on Wednesday over allegations tied to participation in the martial law operation and a possible second attempt.

Lt. Gen. Lee Seung-oh, former chief director of operations at the JCS,  is scheduled to appear for questioning on Friday, followed by Kim Myung-soo, former chairman of the JCS, on Wednesday, as investigators work to reconstruct events before and after the declaration.

Separately, prosecutors also once again questioned Choi Jae-hoon , currently head of the major economic crimes investigation unit at the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office, over allegations of an attempted cover-up in the Deutsch Motors  stock price manipulation investigation.

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee was found guilty as a joint perpetrator in the manipulation of Deutsch Motors' stock price on May 4. 

With the initial 90-day investigation period set to expire on Sunday, the special counsel team finalized a decision to extend the investigation by an additional 30 days.

The extension request and its justification were formally reported to President Lee Jae Myung and the National Assembly.

The special counsel investigation will now continue through late June.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KO SEUNG-PYO [[email protected]]