Kwon Chang-young (third from left), the 2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecutor, applauds during the signboard-hanging ceremony at the '2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecutor' office in Gwacheon on February 25. [Photo=Yonhap News]Lawyer Kim Kyung-ho filed a complaint against President Yoon Suk-yeol, claiming, "Former President Yoon is being indicted and tried for insurrection and general treason under the ordinary Criminal Act, which is a clearly erroneous indictment," and arguing that "according to the accurate facts, he should be indicted and tried for rebellion and general treason under the Military Criminal Act." [Photo=Yonhap News]

An outlandish "out-of-body" coup where the commander-in-chief of the military supposedly instigates a military rebellion against himself. This unprecedented legal comedy has finally come to an end. 

The 2nd Comprehensive Special Prosecutor's Office has decided not to indict former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the military leadership on charges of rebellion under the Military Criminal Act. The basic requirement for the crime of rebellion is a soldier rising up against a superior commander; applying the charge of rebellion to the President, the supreme commander, was a logical contradiction that could not stand from the beginning.

The Spell of a 'Self-Coup' Ends in Surrender

It is truly both amusing and pathetic to see the special prosecutor's office, which had been brandishing its sword so loudly while kicking up dust for so long, quietly drop the blade and pretend to look elsewhere at the last minute.

The most ridiculous part of this farce is the reaction from the legal community that emerged immediately after the special prosecutor's declaration of surrender. They are now gently standing on the sidelines, offering critiques and claiming that applying the rebellion charge was unreasonable from the start or that the investigation was absurd. It is a truly cowardly and annoying case of closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. 

Where were these "smart" lawyers when left-wing speakers were gathering in the square, screaming about a "rebellion ringleader," and the special prosecutor was eagerly biting into their complaint to whip up public sentiment? 

When the guillotine of madness was sharpened and ready, they stayed low and kept quiet to avoid offending their own camp. Only when the special prosecutor hit a dead end and waved the white flag did they emerge, clearing their throats to pontificate about the rule of law. It is a remarkably petty survival strategy for an elite class riddled with cowardly opportunism.

One can easily guess why the left-wing camp insisted on such a grandiose charge as "rebellion," even though it was obvious from the start that it was legally impossible. Was it not because they needed a provocative label to ignite the public’s adrenaline, rather than meticulous legal proof? 

It was a massive political business designed to slap the label of "rebellion ringleader" to trigger trauma from the past military regimes and to grant a blind moral superiority to the cartel protecting Lee Jae-myung. 

They just needed high-quality firewood to toss to the public, whose sense of reason has been paralyzed; they never even intended to secure a conviction in court. Having achieved their desired purpose of swaying public opinion, the special prosecutor's pivot—suddenly claiming the legal principles are complex—serves as the perfect finale to this thrifty business.

Law is the Backbone of a Nation… Must Not Be Forgotten

The law is the backbone of a nation, and the office of the special prosecutor should be the heaviest sword used to keep that backbone straight. However, in today's South Korea, the special prosecutor and legal standards seem to have devolved into disposable toys used to satisfy the shallow political cravings of factional interests. 

While the nation's massive investigative resources and tax dollars were wasted on the absurd spell of a commander-in-chief's "self-rebellion," the groups of experts who should have protected the society’s reason essentially colluded through cowardly silence.

President Yoon Suk-yeol sits in the defendant's seat. [Photo=Seoul Central District Court]  

Faced with this ridiculous "non-indictment" happening, we cannot help but pose a heavy and chilling question: Can a society where loud voices, rather than legal principles, become the standard for indictment, and where even the intellectuals who should speak the truth seal their lips in the face of violent factional logic, truly be called an intact republic? 

Unless we resolutely kick away this lighthearted witch-hunt ritual—which tripped over its own legal contradictions—and the cowardly opportunism of the experts, the next target of that forced indictment, which will be discarded without regret once its purpose is served, might be you. 

Note: It is difficult writing while trying to avoid the "gag law."

◆ Park Joo-hyun, Writer

Composer, music director, columnist, and essayist. Actively expressing opinions on political, current, and social issues on Facebook, gaining empathy from many. Author of the essay collection, 'Crossing the Stormy Sea.'