Special prosecutor seeks arrest of ex-security official who sent allies messages justifying martial law

The second special prosecutor team led by Kwon Chang-young has moved to take former National Security Office First Deputy Director Kim Tae-hyo into custody.

The team sought an arrest warrant Tuesday for Kim on charges of playing a key role in insurrection and abusing official authority to obstruct the exercise of rights, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Kim is accused of using Foreign Ministry officials to transmit messages to the United States and other key allied nations justifying the emergency martial law declaration shortly after it was imposed.

The messages reportedly stated that "this measure is intended to defend liberal democracy" and that "this was a political demonstration within the bounds of the Constitution in response to the National Assembly's attempts to paralyze the administration through impeachment motions, budget cuts and similar actions, and its effective attempt to destroy the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol maintains his stance of standing against pro-Pyongyang leftists and anti-American forces."

The team said it did not seek a warrant for former National Security Office Director Shin Won-sik, judging his degree of involvement to be relatively minor.

A pretrial detention hearing to determine whether Kim will be detained is expected as early as later this week.