Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 31st for a pre-arrest interrogation (warrant validity review). Yonhap News. 

Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who was arrested and indicted on charges including conspiracy in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law on December 3rd and ordering power and water cuts to media outlets, denied all charges during his first trial.

The special prosecutor team that indicted former Minister Lee requested that the court expedite the trial, citing the gravity of the case.

The 32nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kang Wan-soo) held the first preparatory hearing on the 19th for the trial of former Minister Lee, who is charged with engaging in important duties of insurrection, abuse of power, and perjury.

A preparatory hearing is a procedural step taken before the official trial to confirm the defendant's position on the criminal charges and to establish a plan for evidence examination. As attendance is not mandatory for the defendant, former Minister Lee did not appear in court that day.

Lee Yoon-je, a special prosecutor on the team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok—which is investigating insurrection and foreign aggression charges related to the December 3rd martial law declaration—outlined the indictment: "The defendant participated in former President Yoon's illegal declaration of the December 3rd martial law, engaged in important duties of insurrection, abused his authority as Minister of the Interior and Safety, and even committed perjury at the Constitutional Court regarding the situation at the time to cover these acts."

Attorneys for former Minister Lee stated, "The defendant opposed the martial law and clearly conveyed his stance to the President," and declared that they deny the charges in their entirety.

Specifically regarding the charge of conspiracy to impose martial law, they argued, "It is inconceivable that someone conspiring or plotting martial law would be in the provinces for a Kimjang (kimchi-making) event, or that they would be scrambling to return by repeatedly booking train tickets three times," adding, "Looking at these circumstances, it is difficult to see any conspiracy or sequential collusion."

Regarding the allegation that he relayed former President Yoon's order for power and water cuts to media outlets to the Commissioner of the National Fire Agency, the defense stated, "He never gave such an order, and even the Commissioner mentioned that what he heard was merely a 'nuance,'" adding, "Even if many statements were made to investigative agencies regarding this, we expect the court to consider the credibility of such hearsay, so for now, we will simply state that we deny the charge."

The defense also countered the charge of perjury at the Constitutional Court, saying, "While there were parts where he said he did not remember, he testified based on his memory, and there was no testimony or statement provided that was contrary to his actual recollection."

Earlier, the defense argued that the special prosecutor's indictment violated the "principle of indictment exclusivity" (indictment-only principle) by including matters in which former Minister Lee was not directly involved. However, the court dismissed this, stating, "Since the charges themselves involve engaging in important duties of insurrection, it seems natural that documents related to the insurrection are included, and the special prosecutor has not included everything related to the insurrection in an exhaustive manner."

The principle of indictment exclusivity holds that an indictment should contain only facts directly related to the crime so that the court does not form prejudices regarding the defendant's guilt. Its purpose is to ensure that judges approach a trial without prior knowledge of investigation records, allowing them to form their convictions solely based on the public trial.

However, the court did ask the special prosecutor to "refine or amend" some language, noting that the defense had pointed out unclear expressions that could lead to unnecessary arguments or redundant witness interrogations.

The special prosecutor team also requested an expedited trial from the court, citing Article 11 of the Special Prosecutor Act, which specifies time limits for trials of cases investigated by special prosecutors.

Special Prosecutor Lee Yoon-je emphasized, "This case concerns the restoration of a collapsed constitutional order, and the entire nation's attention is focused on it. It is the duty of the criminal justice system to stabilize society and end national division as quickly as possible through a swift trial."

The court concluded the preparatory hearing for the day and decided to hold the first official trial date on the 17th of next month.

The court stated, "Although the defense requested additional preparatory hearings, we will not grant them," adding, "We will schedule the trial dates with sufficient intervals, so please prepare comprehensive and specific positions beforehand to bring the key issues into focus."

The court also announced that once the first trial begins, it plans to proceed with hearings once a week.

The special prosecutor team led by Cho Eun-seok indicted former Minister Lee while under arrest on the 19th of last month.

Former Minister Lee is charged with failing to fulfill his duty as the minister in charge of peacetime martial law to prevent the President from declaring arbitrary martial law, and with relaying former President Yoon's instructions for power and water cuts to media outlets to the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency.

He is also charged with perjury during the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of former President Yoon last February, where he testified that he had never given instructions for power or water cuts and had never received such orders from the President.

Yonhap News