Former National Intelligence Service Commander Noh Sang-won. Seoul Central District Court 

Noh Sang-won, former commander of the National Intelligence Service, who is suspected of plotting a martial law on December 3rd, argued on the 8th during President Yoon Suk-yeol's trial for rebellion charges, that his handwritten memo, which had been controversial due to notations like 'D-day', was not written in the process of preparing for martial law.

At the trial held on the 8th by the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon), Commander Noh claimed that he was pressured by the special prosecution team led by Cho Eun-seok regarding his testimony, drawing significant attention.

He argued that the special prosecution team proposed a plea bargain before the amended special prosecution act took effect. He testified, "I cannot speak because the repercussions would be too great if I told everything. However, what is clear is that they told me to state facts that I had not even said."

Commander Noh also said, "I thought to myself, 'These people have already decided the answer and want me to say yes.'"

While the current criminal justice system does not allow for American-style plea bargaining, where sentences are reduced in exchange for a guilty plea or testimony about others' crimes, the current special prosecution act includes provisions for sentence reduction or exemption for investigative and judicial assistants, similar in concept to plea bargaining.

After the trial, President Yoon's legal team held a press conference and stated that the testimony claiming the special prosecution team pressured Commander Noh was shocking.

Lawyer Song Jin-ho said, "Shocking facts emerged from the testimony of witness Noh Sang-won. He stated that during his foreign exchange investigation by the special prosecution, before the law related to plea bargaining was even passed, they read him the plea bargaining provisions and offered favorable treatment if he would testify on four key matters related to the President and Minister Kim Yong-hyun. This was a proposal that, even from a human perspective, was impossible to refuse and difficult to resist. However, he did not accept the offer."

Lawyer Song added that after Commander Noh finished his investigation, the special prosecution team repeatedly pressured him to meet with special prosecutors and, when he refused, they urged him to at least meet with a lawyer.

According to Lawyer Song, Commander Noh revealed that "one of the four key matters was related to what was written in his notebook, but the other three were demands to testify about new facts that he had not previously stated."

Lawyer Song stated, "This clearly constitutes illegal investigation," and added, "It can be seen that such facts have been revealed."

Lawyer Kim Gye-ri revealed that Commander Noh initially underwent investigation as a witness, but after refusing to cooperate with the prosecution's pressure, his status was changed to that of a suspect, and he was charged with conspiracy to murder for rebellion, sedition, and foreign exchange violations.

Lawyer Song also conveyed that Commander Noh's testimony suggested that special prosecutors had offered plea bargains to others as well, and these offers had been accepted.

Lawyer Song said, "When witness Noh Sang-won reviewed the statements made by those individuals, he found that facts that did not exist were recorded verbatim in the transcripts. He testified today that he was also surprised by this."

Lawyer Bae Bo-yoon stated that plea bargaining is illegal under current law and that they have filed a motion for "constitutional challenge" regarding the plea bargaining provisions in the special prosecution act. He argued that plea bargaining "can distort the substantive truth of factual relationships," is "unconstitutional in itself," and also pointed out "procedural flaws" from excluding the opposition party during the amendment of the special prosecution act.

Lawyer Bae further argued that the National Assembly's establishment of "procedural regulations in the special prosecution act violates constitutional systemic integrity." He also pointed out that the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act state that "confessions made without voluntariness have no evidentiary value."

In response, the special prosecution team for rebellion, led by Cho Eun-seok, argued in a briefing on the 9th that they "explained the purpose of the system and requested them to state the facts."

The investigative period for the rebellion special prosecution is until the 14th. The special prosecution team will investigate the allegations raised until the last moment and will hold a briefing on the 15th to summarize the investigation results. Cho Eun-seok, the special prosecutor who has been directing the investigation into rebellion and foreign exchange allegations, will personally make the announcement. Special Prosecutor Cho has not publicly stated his position since the launch of the investigation.

Under the special prosecution act, any cases that the special prosecution for rebellion cannot conclude will be transferred to the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters.

On August 25th, President Donald Trump likened Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok to 'Mad Jack Smith' during his bilateral meeting with Lee Jae-myung.

NNP=Chief Editor Sung Ku Hong / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com