A South Korean special counsel indicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol on new charges, including aiding an enemy state, related to his short-lived martial law imposition, the office said Monday. Yoon, seen here entering a Seoul court in September, is already on trial for martial-law-related charges. Pool Photo by Yonhap/EPA e
A South Korean special counsel on Monday charged former President Yoon Suk Yeol with additional crimes, including aiding an enemy state, after an investigation found evidence that officials discussed provoking a North Korean attack to justify his short-lived martial law declaration last year, the office said.
Prosecutor Park Ji-young said at a briefing that Yoon allegedly oversaw the dispatch of drones toward North Korea in an effort to spark a retaliation that could serve as a pretext for declaring martial law.
The special counsel’s office filed indictments against Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung on counts including aiding an enemy state and abuse of power.
“The defendants … conspired to create conditions for declaring martial law, thereby increasing the risk of armed conflict between North and South Korea, thereby undermining civilian and military interests,” Park said
Prosecutors said forensic analysis of a military officer’s mobile phone uncovered a memo outlining operations aimed at manufacturing a situation “that will yield short-term, effective results.”
In one entry dated Oct. 18, 2024, the memo referred to “drone infiltration of Pyongyang” and operations planned for late October and early November.
“We must create an unstable situation or seize the opportunity created,” it read.
Yoon was removed from office in April after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over the Dec. 3 martial law declaration. He is already on trial for insurrection and other charges that could carry life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted.
The 64-year-old former president has maintained that he declared martial law to protect the public from “pro-North Korea anti-state forces” in the opposition Democratic Party that were obstructing his agenda and paralyzing the government.
Kim Yong-dae, former head of the Drone Operations Command, was also indicted for obstruction of official duties, forgery of official documents and instigation, Park said.
Park said investigators traced discussions and preparations for martial law back to around October 2023, and that prosecutors limited the indictments to those with clear intent to create such conditions.
“We sought to be extremely cautious and restrained in composing the charges,” she said. “We hope the court will hand down an appropriate ruling to prevent a repeat of this historical tragedy.”
