Mayor of Daegu, South Korea, sentenced to 20 years in prison for martial law incident

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 30 (Xinhua) South Korea’s special inspection team responsible for investigating emergency martial law incidents requested the court to sentence Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho to 20 years in prison on September 30 for assisting former President Yoon Seok-yue in maintaining martial law.

 The special inspection team accused Qiu Qinghao of playing a key role in the martial law incident. After Yoon Seok-yue declared martial law on December 3, 2024, Choo Kyung-ho, then the floor representative (whip) of the National Power Party, changed the location of the party’s emergency meeting three times that day to prevent members of the party from going to the National Assembly to participate in the vote on lifting martial law. According to the special inspection team, Qiu Qinghao received a call from Yin Xiyue at that time and acted according to his instructions.

  This is the entrance to the Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, taken on April 21, 2025. Published by Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Quan Xiu)

 Choo Kyung-ho was elected mayor of Daegu City in South Korea’s local elections held in early June. His legal team denied the above-mentioned accusations and said that the prosecutors’ claims had “no evidence”. The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to make a ruling on the case on November 18.