Seoul court sentences ex-defense minister to three years, less than prosecutors sought, for leaking military secrets

The Seoul Central District Court on Friday sentenced former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to a three-year prison term for leaking military secrets to a civilian ahead of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid in December 2024. The court found Kim guilty of conspiring with others to hand over a list of more than 40 military intelligence personnel to Noh Sang-won, a retired general and former head of the Defense Intelligence Command, between October and November 2024.

The list included information on covert intelligence agents.

The court recognized special counsel Cho Eun-suk's argument that Kim and Noh had planned to use the list to form a special investigation unit under martial law that would probe alleged election-rigging. "The defendant used the military command system to play a decisive role in allowing former commander Noh, a civilian, to get access to personal information of DIC agents," the court said.

" The ruling fell short of the special counsel team's recommendation of a five-year prison term.

Kim signaled his intent to appeal through his lawyers, claiming the court had delivered a "wrong" ruling. Kim was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February 2026 for playing a key role in an insurrection through Yoon's martial law bid and has appealed that ruling.

He received another 30-year prison term on June 12, 2026, for his role in sending military drones into Pyongyang to create a pretext for the martial law declaration.