Former Presidential Aide Kang Ui-gu sentenced to 1.5 years in prison

South Korea's Supreme Court has finalized a 1.5-year prison sentence for Kang Ui-gu, the former head of the Presidential Secretariat's First Protocol Office. Kang was convicted of falsifying official documents and violating the Presidential Records Management Act related to the December 3 martial law incident.

Prosecutors alleged that Kang created a fraudulent martial law declaration cover page on December 6, 2024, after the martial law had already been lifted. The document was designed to falsely suggest that former President Yoon Suk-yeol, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun had signed the declaration at the time of its initial announcement.

Additionally, Kang was accused of destroying the documents following instructions from former Prime Minister Han to avoid controversy regarding the post-dated creation of the files. While the court upheld the convictions for falsifying documents and destroying official records, it acquitted Kang of charges related to the actual use of the forged documents, noting they were kept in a desk drawer rather than being used to deceive the public.