South Korea’s anti-courruption watchdog on Friday launched a raid on the house and office of Lt. Gen. Won Cheon-hee, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in Yongsan, central Seoul, as part of an investigation into his alleged involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched martial law imposition.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which led the joint investigation team probing Yoon since mid-December last year, said its prosecutors and investigators conducted a search and seizure operation to obtain martial law-related records.
The agency attempted to proceed in its martial law investigations, which have been put on hold as the agency heavily focused on interrogating the suspended president until it transferred Yoon’s case to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Jan. 23.
Won, one of six military officials who are subject to CIO investigation, is suspected of having discussed the martial law plan with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Moon Sang-ho, former chief of the Korea Defense Intelligence Command, on Dec. 2, 2024, a day before the martial law declaration.
The Defense Ministry previously said that Won did meet the two officials to report on the KDIC’s budget, but that martial law was not discussed.
The three-star general was questioned during a hearing held by the National Assembly’s defense committee on Dec. 10 last year as well.
Asked whether he was instructed to deploy the KDIC troops to the National Election Commission by the former defense minister, Won answered he did not receive such an order.
The state anti-corruption agency seeks to continue its investigation into Won, who is the direct superior to Moon.
Moon has been indicted with detention on Jan. 6 on charges of insurrection as a participant in the planning or execution thereof, including ordering troops to occupy the NEC and to arrest officials who were working in an independent constitutional body.
The agency also plans to investigate whether Won was involved in the process of establishing a special investigation unit under the martial law troops to probe suspected election fraud in the 2024 general election with Defense Minister Kim and Noh Sang-won, a former chief of the KDIC who was also a close aide to the defense minister.
The CIO plans to proceed with summons after analyzing the seized materials.
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