On September 21 the Seoul Central District Court convicted military commanders charged over the deployment of troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission during the December 3 martial law declaration. Yeo In-hyeong, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, was sentenced to 18 years, and Lee Jin-woo, former Capital Defense Commander, to 15 years.

Moon Sang-ho, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, received 12 years; Park An-su, former Army Chief of Staff, 10 years; and Kwak Jong-geun, former Special Warfare Commander, nine years. None of the commanders brought to trial avoided prison.

The special investigation team had sought 30 years each for Yeo and Lee. The sentences fell below those requests, but the finding that they performed important roles in an insurrection is regarded as carrying substantial weight.

The court is reported to have weighed the character of deploying troops against constitutional institutions, the role each defendant played, and their place in the chain of command. The full text of the ruling entered the disclosure process after sentencing.

What Comes Next

The defendants may appeal. A first-instance ruling is the starting point for findings of fact and law, and sentences are often adjusted on appeal. Hearings in related cases continue.

This is the first large-scale judgment on the military command in the criminal proceedings arising from the martial law episode. Observers suggest it may serve as a reference for findings of fact in civilian cases on the same events.

South Korean society has followed the legal handling of this case for close to two years. As rulings accumulate, the axis of discussion appears to be moving from what happened to how a recurrence can be prevented.

For foreign residents, including the ethnic Chinese community, the proceedings are not someone else's business. How state power is procedurally constrained in an emergency is a condition of daily life for everyone living in a society, citizen or not.