Ex-NIS director sentenced to one year and six months in prison for falsely testifying in martial law trial

A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Cho Tae-yong to a year and six months in prison for falsely testifying in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Cho, finding him guilty of falsely testifying at the Constitutional Court by saying he had not received martial law-related documents from Yoon.

It also convicted him of creating false public documents by submitting such written testimonies.

The sentence, however, fell far short of the seven-year prison term sought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, which had indicted Cho on other offenses, including dereliction of duty.

The special counsel accused Cho of failing to report Yoon's martial law plan to the National Assembly despite allegedly hearing about a plan to mobilize troops to seal off the National Assembly and arrest politicians.

By law, the NIS director must report any situation that has a significant impact on national security without delay to the president and the parliamentary Intelligence Committee.

The court, however, acquitted Cho of the charge, saying that it could not rule out that he might have determined the plan was a rumor.

“The defendant made false statements and created false public documents to reduce his own responsibility,” the court said. “The nature of the crime is not light.”

Yonhap