During the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016 and 2017, SBS exclusively obtained the indictment of former commanding general Cho Hyun-chon, who was arrested and charged with using the military to manipulate public opinion.

The complaint details the circumstances under which Cho instructed his staff to use conservative groups, to hold a back-fire rally in response to the candlelight vigil, and to write articles defending Park Geun-hye in major newspapers.

Prosecutors found that when former Commander Cho instructed the head of the KIM to "establish and report on the use of reserve conservative groups to overcome the Choi Soon-sil National Government Nongdan and the candlelight vigil," the section chief prepared a report titled <Measures to Respond to Security Conservative Tax Related to the Current City Government>

In early November 2016, the section chief contacted the reserve generals and instructed them to "request that reservist and conservative organizations, reservist generals active on social media and the media, and conservative journalists hold rallies and demonstrations in support of government policies, including former President Park Geun-hye, and in response to rallies demanding by pro-North Korean forces, and to publish articles, columns, newspaper advertisements, and media interviews with conservative media about the same."

In fact, a reserve general followed these instructions and published a column defending Park in a newspaper on November 11, 2016.

Another reserve general published a series of articles of a similar nature in another newspaper on November 11, 10.

There are five or six columns and advertisements written by reservist generals and others defending the Choi Soon-sil and Park Geun-hye state affairs situation.

In particular, the prosecution believes that these posts are nothing more than incitement without any logic, ignoring the political and legal responsibilities of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces or high-ranking authorities for the state farming crisis.

The "circumstances of the plan for the backfire vigil" in response to the candlelight vigil are also listed in the indictment.

On November 2016, 11, she held a rally to defend the national anthem near the National Assembly Station in Yeouido, Seoul, and on November 11, 2016, she issued a statement against former President Park Geun-hye.



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Prosecutors stated that Cho made reservist generals and others do non-obligatory work in order to create public opinion in support of former President Park.

The indictment also includes the circumstances under which Cho used the military to engage in politics to form favorable public opinion on the THAAD deployment issue even before the impeachment phase.

Under current law, military personnel must not use their position to disseminate opinions or facts for the purpose of creating public opinion on a particular issue.

Nonetheless, prosecutors allege that Cho used reserve generals to pay 2016 million won (embezzlement at work) to several reserve generals on August 8, 24, directing them to create public opinion in support of THAAD's deployment, and engaging in politics (accused of abuse of office and political involvement).

The prosecutor's office believes that this move to get involved in politics led to the order to prepare martial law documents, and they are continuing to investigate charges of conspiracy to commit insurrection, summoning former commander Cho and former chief of staff Sogang Won, who was his chief of staff.

(Photo = Yonhap News)