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

Kim Yong-hyun, former Minister of National Defense, who is on trial for charges including engaging in important duties related to rebellion, has filed another judge recusal request against the court panel handling his previous recusal request.

According to legal circles on the 19th, Kim's legal team filed a renewed recusal request against the 1st Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik) of the Seoul High Court, which specializes in rebellion cases and is currently reviewing their recusal request.

Former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Roh Sang-won and former head of the military police for the 3rd Field Army (Colonel) Kim Yong-geun have also jointly filed a 'recusal request regarding the recusal case'.

Currently, the 1st Criminal Division is reviewing the judge recusal request filed by them against the 12-1st Criminal Division (High Court Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-gu, and Kim Min-ah).

On the 14th, during the first hearing of the appeal trial for charges including engaging in important duties related to rebellion, they announced their intention to file a recusal request against the 12-1st Criminal Division, which is presiding over the proceedings.

At the time, the court stated, "It is better to sort this out and proceed for the sake of procedural clarity," and decided to review the request rather than summarily dismiss it.

Summary dismissal refers to a swift rejection of a recusal request that is clearly intended to delay the trial.

Their recusal request was assigned to the 1st Criminal Division, another court panel specializing in rebellion cases, and Kim and the others have once again raised objections to the 1st Criminal Division reviewing the recusal case.

Kim's lawyer, Yoo Seung-soo, told Yonhap News, "It is the same sentiment as the initial recusal request against the 12th Criminal Division," and explained, "The fairness of a court panel handling rebellion cases reviewing a (recusal) request itself is questionable."

The 1st Criminal Division is currently reviewing whether to summarily dismiss the 'recusal request regarding the recusal case'.

Yesterday, the special prosecutor team led by Cho Eun-seok urged the court to make a swift decision on the recusal requests filed by Kim and others.

The special prosecutor team pointed out, "The law strictly regulates the trial period for cases such as rebellion, considering their seriousness and social impact." They added, "A prolonged suspension of the appeal trial due to recusal requests is inevitable, which goes against the legislative intent of the Special Prosecutor Act, enacted for the purpose of swift trial proceedings."