Court set to begin trials for police chiefs over martial law bid

▲ This composite file photo shows Cho Ji-ho (L), commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

police chiefs-trial

Court set to begin trials for police chiefs over martial law bid

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- The trials of the national police chief and the former Seoul police chief over their alleged roles in President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid are set to begin Thursday.

The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to hold the first preparatory hearing of the trials for Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, at 10 a.m.

The two police chiefs were indicted with physical detention last month on charges of mobilizing police forces to close off the National Assembly and organizing the arrest of key politicians during the brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

Cho has since been released on bail to undergo treatment for blood cancer.

The same court will also hold the first preparatory hearing for the trial of Noh Sang-won, former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, who is accused of planning martial law operations and ordering intelligence officers to take over the National Election Commission's headquarters.

Meanwhile, a second preparatory trial hearing for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun is scheduled for later in the day.

A preparatory hearing involves clarifying the main disputes of a case and planning for future proceedings, and does not require a defendant's attendance.

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