Prosecutors ask for prison terms for three former Moon Jae-in officials accused of leaking THAAD operations to activists opposed to the system.
The prosecution on Monday sought prison terms for three officials who served under former President Moon Jae-in on charges of leaking intelligence related to the THAAD U.S. missile defense system, Yonhap News Agency reported on Nov. 9. The request was made during their trial on power abuse charges at the Seoul Central District Court.
Prosecutors requested 10-month prison sentences for Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser, and Jeong Kyeong-doo, former defense minister. They sought a two-year term for Suh Choo-suk, former first deputy national security adviser.
Chung and Jeong are accused of giving orders to inform activists opposed to South Korea's hosting of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system of operations to replace THAAD battery missiles and radar equipment in Seongju, 215 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in May 2020. Suh is accused of instructing a defense ministry official on eight occasions between 2018 and 2021 to inform the activists in advance of operations to bring THAAD-related equipment and construction materials into the Seongju base.
Prosecutors indicted the three in April last year after the state auditor raised suspicions that officials under the Moon government had leaked the information in a possible attempt to delay the full deployment of THAAD, according to Yonhap. The previous Park Geun-hye administration decided to host the system in 2016.
