Shocking Testimony: Former NIS Chief Admits to Ignoring Presidential Orders During Martial Law

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Former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Hong Jang-won testified at the trial of former NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, saying Cho was informed of an order to arrest leaders from both the ruling and opposition parties during the martial-law episode but did not act on it.

Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 32 (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin) convened Cho’s fourth hearing on the 16th on charges including dereliction of duty and violations of the law governing testimony and document submission to the National Assembly, and called Hong as a witness.

During questioning, prosecutors asked how Cho reacted when Hong reported that then-President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered support from the Military Counterintelligence Command. Hong said Cho showed no notable reaction. When Hong told him the plan involved arresting then-Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and then-People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, Cho replied, “Let’s talk tomorrow morning.”

Hong testified that, in his view, a presidential order should be treated with urgency by the NIS director. If the Military Counterintelligence Command was moving to detain party leaders, he said, no one would take that matter lightly or defer discussion to the next morning.

“Given that kind of briefing, Cho should have reacted, sought counsel, or discussed next steps,” Hong said. “He did none of that. There were many follow-up items to report, yet he cut me off with ‘let’s talk tomorrow morning,’ so I pushed back and said firmly that he needed to issue operational instructions.”

Asked whether he felt Cho was trying to evade responsibility, Hong replied that civil servants are accountable for policy decisions. He acknowledged this might be a subjective judgment but said he understood Cho wanted to disengage from the matter and preferred not to receive further reports.

Hong also testified that former Military Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyeong requested printed locations of the arrest targets. “He said the arrest teams were deployed but couldn’t confirm the targets’ locations, so he asked us to print them,” Hong recounted.

“I suddenly thought he was calling from a personal phone and tried to switch to a secure line, but it wasn’t connected,” Hong added. “He hurriedly began reciting names, so I jotted the list on a sticky note on a bookshelf — that’s the list of people to be arrested.”

Earlier that morning, the court heard testimony that Hong had refused what he considered an improper order from then-President Yoon, which provoked Yoon’s anger and led to Hong’s resignation.

Hong’s former aide, identified only as Lee, said that at a gathering after Hong’s December 6, 2024 retirement ceremony, Hong reflected on his tenure and said Yoon had become furious and that he had to step down. Lee testified Hong had asked others to remember that such a senior official had served.

Cho is charged with dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to report the circumstances surrounding the martial-law declaration and for not informing the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that he had received Yoon’s order to support the Military Counterintelligence Command’s arrests.

The special prosecution team argues that the NIS director is obliged to report immediately to the president and to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee whenever a situation arises that could seriously affect national security.

Prosecutors further allege Cho violated the NIS Act’s ban on political involvement by providing CCTV footage of Hong’s movements inside NIS headquarters only to the then-ruling People Power Party and not to the Democratic Party.

Cho also faces an evidence-tampering charge for allegedly participating in the deletion of burner-phone data belonging to Yoon and Hong after the martial-law incident.

Additional charges include perjury for denying under oath during Yoon’s impeachment trial that he had received any martial-law-related orders or documents from Yoon, and for submitting false statements to the parliamentary special committee investigating the events (violations of the law on testimony and document submission).