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| ▲ Former National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong attends a court hearing over his alleged involvement in the forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 in this Feb. 19, 2025, file photo. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) ex-security adviser-indictment
(LEAD) Ex-senior officials under Moon indicted for leaking THAAD-related intelligence
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SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted senior officials of the previous Moon Jae-in administration on charges of leaking intelligence related to the THAAD U.S. missile defense system to activists.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office indicted former National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong and former Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo without physical detention on charges of abuse of official authority.
The two are accused of giving orders to inform activists opposed to South Korea's hosting of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system beforehand of plans by U.S. and South Korean forces to replace a THAAD battery missile in Seongju, 215 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in May 2020.
These activists included anti-state organizations, who prosecutors say systematically disrupted the military operation by staging illegal rallies, resulting in a waste of state power.
However, prosecutors decided to drop charges related to allegations that the two officials leaked intelligence to China, saying these were explanations based on "military and diplomatic needs" given the situation at the time.
The indictments come after the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) raised suspicions that the Moon government leaked the information as part of attempts to delay the full deployment of THAAD, which the previous Park Geun-hye administration decided to host in 2016 to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
The BAI also accused the two officials of violating the Military Secret Protection Act, but the prosecution referred the charges to the military prosecution.
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