The defense special prosecutor's office, which took additional prosecution action against former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, had their request to change the judges dismissed.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Director General Han Seong-jin) stated on the 24th that it had dismissed former Minister Kim's request to disqualify the judges. Under current law, a request for disqualification that clearly intends to delay the trial can be dismissed immediately by the relevant court.
Earlier, special prosecutor Jo Eun-seok, who is investigating charges of insurrection and foreign exchange against former President Yoon Suk-yeol, added charges against former Minister Kim on the 18th for obstruction of official duties by deception and coaching evidence destruction. The charges include deceiving the Presidential Security Service into receiving a secure phone on December 2, the day before the illegal martial law, and handing it over to former Intelligence Command Chief Noh Sang-won, who was a civilian, as well as instructing his secretary to destroy materials related to martial law on December 5, after the illegal martial law was imposed.
The additional prosecution case has been assigned to Criminal Division 34, rather than Criminal Division 25, which was handling charges related to insurrection-related duties. Special prosecutor Jo Eun-seok has also requested the court to issue an additional arrest warrant, swiftly merge the existing cases, and cancel the conditional bail decision. A hearing on the arrest warrant for former Minister Kim is also underway.
In response, former Minister Kim's side filed a disqualification request against the entire composition of the judges, citing issues with the special prosecutor's additional prosecution procedures. A prior request to suspend the execution of the prosecution's effect was dismissed by the Seoul High Court.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 will hold a hearing on the arrest warrant for former Minister Kim on the 25th.