Cho Tae-yong, former head of the National Intelligence Service, enters Seoul Central District Court, Nov. 11, 2025. Yonhap
Cho Tae-yong, a former head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), appeared before a special counsel team Monday over allegations linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed 2024 martial law bid.
Cho is accused of playing a key role in an insurrection by allegedly attempting to contact U.S. intelligence agencies after Yoon's martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, to deliver a message justifying the emergency decree.
The special counsel team believes the NIS received a document from the presidential Office of National Security a day after Yoon's declaration along with a request to explain the background of his decree to friendly countries.
It suspects that NIS officials called in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency official to explain the emergency measure at Cho's instructions.
