[Anchor]
The special prosecutors investigating the insurrection have asked the court to sentence Cho Tae-yong, the former director of the National Intelligence Service, to seven years in prison in the first-instance trial on charges of dereliction of duty related to the 12·3 martial law plan.
The prosecutors say Cho abused his position as head of the country's top intelligence agency to facilitate the wrongdoing.
Chaewon An reports.
[Reporter]
Cho, the former NIS director, is on trial for allegedly learning of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan to declare martial law and a plan to deploy arrest teams for politicians, but failing to notify the National Assembly.
The special prosecutors requested a seven-year prison term for Cho in the trial court.
The prosecution argued that, despite leading the nation's top intelligence agency, Cho involved the NIS in the insurrection plot and compromised the agency's political neutrality.
They added that while the defendant neglected his duty to report to the National Assembly, counterintelligence officers were actually deployed, and the impeachment process triggered intense political confrontation and broader social conflict.
The prosecutors also said Cho's subsequent actions obstructed the investigation into the insurrection and the judicial process, underscoring the need for a severe sentence. Given the post-crime circumstances, they characterized the case as serious with significant culpability.
Cho's defense, which denied all charges throughout the trial, reiterated its arguments at the final hearing.
Lee Heon-seop, Cho's defense lawyer (Feb. 4): We interpreted Hong Jang-won's remarks as speculative and not definitive in context. The defendant's testimony that he did not receive a report in the National Assembly about any presidential order to arrest politicians was not false testimony.
In his final statement, Cho said he apologized to the public \"as a senior official of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration\" over the martial law matter, but added that the NIS had not done anything dishonorable and that he had not sought to evade responsibility.
The court set sentencing for May 21.
This is Chaewon An for Yonhap News TV.
[Video editor: Kim Chan]
[Graphics: Lee Jung-tae]
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Chaewon An (chae1@yna.co.kr)
