Seoul, June 19 The independent counsel investigating South Korean former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law said Thursday he has indicted former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun on charges including obstruction of official duties.
Cho Eun-suk said in a notice to the press that Kim was also indicted on charges of abetting the destruction of evidence in connection with the December 3 imposition of martial law. The charges were filed late Wednesday night, he said.
Kim has been under arrest since December 27 and standing trial on charges of insurrection for recommending martial law to Yoon and drafting the decree.
The additional indictments came two days after Kim appealed a conditional bail decision sought by the prosecution and granted by a court in an apparent bid to win unconditional release when his six-month arrest expires June 26.
In the notice, Cho said, "We have requested the court to swiftly consolidate the new charges against Kim with the existing case, cancel the bail decision and issue a new detention warrant."
The special counsel's move appears intended to prevent Kim from being released next week, Yonhap news agency reported.
Under criminal procedure law, the pretrial detention period for a first-instance trial cannot exceed six months. As the same charges cannot be used to justify continued detention, Kim must be released unless a new warrant is issued based on additional charges.
To address this, prosecutors had asked the court to grant bail under strict conditions.
However, Kim refused to accept the proposed terms and filed a request to suspend the execution of the bail decision.
In the latest indictments, Kim is accused of deceiving the Presidential Security Service on December 2 to be issued a secure phone that he later gave to Noh Sang-won, a civilian and a former commander of the Defence Intelligence Command.
Prosecutors earlier determined that Kim and Noh had used the phone to communicate secretly about the execution of the martial law plan.
The other indictment relates to charges Kim instructed an aide on December 5 to destroy documents pertaining to the martial law attempt.
Kim's legal team denounced the indictments as "illegal."
"Special Counsel Cho abused his power to illegally indict former Minister Kim even though he does not have the authority to indict during the investigation preparation period," the team said in a statement, referring to the maximum 20 days allowed by law to prepare for the independent investigation.
The lawyers also claimed the disclosure of unverified investigation details is illegal and punishable as libel.
"The indictments must be dismissed immediately," the team said. "We will exercise our rights under the special counsel law to file objections and suspend execution to protect former Minister Kim's right to stand trial without detention."
Cho is one of three independent counsels appointed by President Lee Jae Myung last Thursday to investigate the martial law bid, corruption allegations involving Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, and suspicions surrounding the 2023 death of a Marine.
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