▲ Former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong appears for his arrest warrant hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul in this file photo taken Nov. 11, 2025. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) ex-spy chief-trial

(LEAD) Ex-spy chief Cho Tae-yong sentenced to 1 1/2 yrs in prison for perjury in martial law trial

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details; RECASTS headline, lead)

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Cho Tae-yong to 1 1/2 years in prison for making false testimony in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Cho, finding him guilty of making false testimonies at the Constitutional Court by saying he had not received martial law-related documents from Yoon.

It also convicted him of creating false public documents for submitting such written testimonies.

The sentence, however, fell far short of the seven-year prison term sought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, which had indicted Cho on other offenses, including dereliction of duty.

It accused Cho of failing to report Yoon's martial law plan to the National Assembly despite allegedly hearing about a plan to mobilize troops to seal off the National Assembly and arrest politicians.

By law, the NIS director must report any situation that has significant impact on national security without delay to the president and the parliamentary intelligence committee.

The court, however, acquitted him of the charge, saying it could not rule out that Cho may have determined the plan as a rumor.

"The defendant made false statements and created false public documents in order to reduce his own responsibility," the court said. "The nature of the crime is not light."

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