Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun. Provided by the Constitutional Court. 

A court hearing to determine whether former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun will be further detained was held on the 12th.

The 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jung-yeop) held a hearing on the arrest warrant for former Minister Kim at 2:30 PM on the same day.

An arrest warrant hearing is a procedure in which the court hears the opinions of the prosecutor and the defendant to determine the necessity of detaining the defendant. The hearing was held in private.

If an arrest warrant is issued this time, former Minister Kim will be detained for the third consecutive time on different charges.

Former Minister Kim was first arrested on December 10 last year during the investigation stage of the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law, on charges including engaging in important duties for insurrection.

Subsequently, the Special Prosecutor's Team, which took over the case, indicted former Minister Kim on charges such as obstructing public duty by deception and requested further detention. The court issued a warrant on June 25, just three hours before the expiration of the detention period.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the detention period for the first instance trial is a maximum of six months, but if the necessity of detention is recognized due to indictment in another case or for different charges, an additional arrest warrant can be issued after court review.

The special prosecutor's team, which is investigating suspicions of insurrection and foreign aggression, has reportedly requested an additional arrest warrant from the court on charges of general treason and abuse of power. Former Minister Kim's detention period is until the 25th of this month.

If the court issues an arrest warrant after this hearing, former Minister Kim's detention period will be extended by a maximum of six months.

If the arrest warrant is denied, former Minister Kim will be released approximately one year after his arrest in December last year.

The special prosecutor's team is expected to argue that it is necessary for former Minister Kim to stand trial in detention, citing the gravity of his alleged crimes and the risk of evidence tampering.

Park Ji-young, a special prosecutor's aide, stated at a regular briefing, "The legal penalty for the crime of general treason applied to former Minister Kim is life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than three years. The crime itself is extremely serious, and the risk of flight cannot be ignored," adding, "There is also a significant risk of evidence tampering if former Minister Kim's side considers legal proceedings."

Conversely, former Minister Kim's side is expected to emphasize that being detained three times for the same factual circumstances is unjust and that the defendant's right to defense needs to be guaranteed, as the special prosecutor's investigation is virtually complete.

Former Minister Kim was additionally indicted last month on charges of ordering the Drone Operations Command to infiltrate Pyongyang with drones around October of last year, with the aim of provoking North Korea, heightening military tensions, and using it as justification for emergency martial law.