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

The legal team of former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, after their request to the court for a constitutional review of the law on a special court for rebellion cases was denied, has directly filed a constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court.

According to legal circles on the 19th, Kim's legal team filed a constitutional appeal with the Constitutional Court yesterday regarding the 'Act on Special Cases Concerning Procedures for Crimes of Rebellion, Foreign Invasion, and Insurrection' (law on a special court for rebellion cases).

Kim's legal team claimed that the law on a special court for rebellion cases infringes upon the right to a fair trial and had requested the Seoul High Court's Special Court for Rebellion Cases, Criminal Division 12-1 (Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-gu, Kim Min-ah), to refer the law for constitutional review last month.

However, on the 13th, the court dismissed and rejected Kim's legal team's request, stating that uniformity and expertise are necessary for rebellion trials and that the special law designating a specific court to handle such cases falls within the legislative branch's discretionary power.

A request for a constitutional review is a system where a court requests the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of a law if the constitutionality of that law is a prerequisite for a trial. As the court did not accept this request, it appears they have directly sought a determination of constitutionality from the Constitutional Court.