# Kim Yong-hyun (general)

Kim Yong-hyun (Korean: 김용현; born 25 June 1959) is a South Korean former lieutenant general and politician who served as the Minister of National Defense from 6 September 2024 until his resignation on 5 December 2024 for his involvement in the 2024 South Korean martial law. On 8 December 2024, he was arrested on suspicion of committing insurrection by advising President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law and sending troops into the National Assembly to seize the legislature.
If he is convicted of either treason or insurrection, Kim could potentially face the death penalty.

## Early life and education

Kim was born in Masan, South Korea. He graduated from Chungam High School [ko] in Eunpyeong District, Seoul in 1978 (one year ahead of Yoon Suk Yeol), and entered the Korea Military Academy shortly thereafter.

## Career

Kim was formerly a three-star army general who served as the Chief of the Presidential Security Service from 11 May 2022 until he was nominated to serve as the Minister of National Defense in August 2024, taking office on 6 September. Due to Kim having been an upperclassman of President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Chungam High School in Seoul, they have been referred to as the "Chungam faction".

## Association with the 2024 martial law

At an unplanned cabinet meeting that Yoon convened minutes before his late-night declaration on 3 December, Kim recommended imposing martial law. Kim resigned on 5 December in the aftermath of the 2024 declaration of martial law, for which he made an apology. His deputy, Kim Seon-ho, also accused him of having ordered soldiers to enter the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from gathering to vote down the declaration. Kim was barred from leaving the country on 5 December by the Ministry of Justice. On 8 December, he was arrested on charges relating to the martial law declaration.
On 10 December, a police raid was conducted at the Presidential Office, with investigators presenting a search warrant that specified Yoon as the suspect. On the same day, Kim attempted suicide using his underwear at the detention facility he was held in.
On 27 December, an unsealed indictment of Kim Yong-hyun revealed that President Yoon met with former Minister Kim, Commander Yeo, and others about 10 times since March 2024 to discuss the imposition of martial law. Yoon began drafting the martial law decree on 24 November, by using reference to the martial law documents drafted under the leadership of the Defense Security Command during the Park Geun-hye impeachment in March 2017 and past martial law proclamations. Yoon ordered a nighttime curfew reference to be dropped from the decree.
The indictment also revealed that the Commander of the Intelligence Command Moon Sang-ho and his predecessor Noh Sang-won intended for 30 troops to detain NEC staff and tie them up with ropes and put masks on their faces, and for them to be sent for detention due to election fraud. Evidence was found of awls, ropes, hammers, cable ties and baseball bats belonging to the arrest team to be used when carrying out the arrests. It also revealed Yoon told Commander Lee, "break down the doors, even if it means shooting", and "even if martial law is lifted, I just have to declare martial law two or three times, so keep going", and Minister Kim also prioritized the arrests and detention of Lee Jae-myung, Woo Won-sik, and Han Dong-hoon from the National Assembly.

### Pre-trial

On 5 February 2025, the National Assembly planned an on-site questioning session at the Seoul Dongbu Detention Center, aimed to directly question key figures involved in the martial law declaration, but it was cancelled after Kim refused to cooperate.
On 21 February, Kim applied for a suspension of execution in protest of the prosecution's sending of his prosecution's investigation records to the Constitutional Court, but it was rejected by the court.
On 9 March, Kim Yong-hyun criticized students at Ewha Womans University that were in favor of impeaching Yoon in a letter he wrote in his prison cell, calling them "a group of evil."