Why it matters. The probe tests whether South Korea's own intelligence service tried to enlist the United States to legitimize a short-lived martial law decree, raising questions about how a key U.S. ally handles a constitutional crisis involving Washington.
Background. In December 2024, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, but the National Assembly voted within hours to overturn it, and he was later removed from office. The fallout spawned multiple special-counsel investigations into an alleged "insurrection." The NIS is Korea's main spy agency, and South Korea and the U.S. are treaty allies with deeply linked intelligence channels, so any outreach to the CIA carries diplomatic weight.
What to watch next. Watch whether the special counsel formally charges Hong and pursues higher-ranking national security officials over the alleged coordinated messaging to allies.
What Happened
South Korea’s special counsel investigating last year’s martial law crisis re-summoned Hong Jang-won, the former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), on June 11 over allegations that the spy agency relayed a message to U.S. intelligence justifying the December 2024 martial law declaration. Hong, who denies wrongdoing, arrived at the special counsel’s office in Gwacheon, south of Seoul, shortly before 10 a.m. and told reporters he had “many things to say” that he would explain inside.
The team, led by special prosecutor Kwon Chang-young, is handling remaining cases from three earlier special-counsel probes. It questioned Hong on suspicion of taking part in key duties of an insurrection and violating the NIS law. It is his second summons; he was first questioned as a suspect on May 22.
The Alleged Message to Washington
Investigators believe that immediately after then-President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, his national security officials coordinated to reassure allied governments. According to the special counsel, then-National Security Office chief Shin Won-sik and former deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo allegedly worked together to pass a message—through National Security Office and Foreign Ministry officials—to the United States and other friendly nations, framing the move as an action “to defend liberal democracy.”
Prosecutors say a similar message reached U.S. intelligence through the NIS. The morning after the declaration, the spy agency allegedly received a Korean-language document from the National Security Office asking it to explain the “background” of martial law to allies. On the instruction of then-NIS Director Cho Tae-yong, the agency’s overseas department is said to have summoned the Seoul station chief of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to NIS headquarters and briefed him along those lines. The special counsel believes Hong was kept informed of and approved the entire process.
Hong’s Defense
Hong’s lawyer rejected the allegations, saying his client “had nothing to do with it” and never received or was aware of any such instruction. The lawyer also argued that the CIA briefing took place on December 4—after the National Assembly had voted to lift martial law—making it legally improper to treat the episode as part of an insurrection. He noted that Hong left work around 1:30 a.m. after lawmakers demanded the decree be lifted, and that some cabinet ministers who took no action that night have not been charged.
A Second Official Questioned
On the same day, the special counsel also summoned Jeon Mu-gon, former head of the planning and coordination bureau at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Investigators have confirmed that prosecutors drafted documents on insurrection investigations and trials after martial law, and suspect Jeon was involved. He had served as an aide to then-Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung around the time of the declaration.
