Overview
- A Seoul court on Thursday, May 21, 2026, sentenced former National Intelligence Service director Cho Tae‑yong to 18 months in prison after finding him guilty of giving false testimony and producing false official documents about the December 3, 2024, martial law declaration.
- Judges acquitted Cho of most broader accusations, including failure to report the martial law plan to the National Assembly and evidence‑destruction claims, saying prosecutors lacked proof and that some material could have been treated as rumor.
- Special counsel Cho Eun‑suk had sought a seven‑year term and had indicted Cho on additional counts such as dereliction of duty, highlighting a gap between the charges prosecutors pursued and what the court found provable.
- Separately, the second special counsel team led by Kwon Chang‑young booked and questioned former NIS first deputy director Hong Jang‑won on insurrection‑related charges on Friday, May 22, 2026, after an April raid on NIS offices yielded documents the team says explain the martial law justification.
- The case raises wider institutional and political questions about the NIS’s duty to report security threats to the president and parliament, the agency’s handling of surveillance and overseas contacts, and the possibility of further indictments that could affect senior officials and public trust in intelligence oversight.