On Monday, the Special Counsel team, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, indicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and former National Defense Security Command Chief Yeo In-hyung on charges of treason and abuse of power. The charges are related to the controversial Pyongyang drone operation and other foreign affairs suspicions.
The Special Counsel considered charging Yoon with the more severe crime of inducing foreign aggression, but ultimately opted for the general treason charge. This charge punishes actions that harm South Korea’s military interests, as proving collusion with the enemy was deemed too challenging.
Special Counsel spokesperson Park Ji-young stated in a morning briefing that Yoon, Kim, and Yeo conspired to create conditions for declaring martial law. Their actions increased the risk of armed conflict between North and South Korea, undermining the nation’s military interests.
In a separate indictment, the Special Counsel charged former Minister Kim and Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae with obstruction of official duties and forging government documents.
The former president and his associates are accused of deploying drones to Pyongyang to provoke retaliatory attacks, allegedly to justify imposing martial law.
Investigators pinpointed the October 2023 military promotions as a key moment in the plan to provoke North Korea. They presented evidence from former Commander Yeo’s phone, including incriminating notes.
Yeo’s notes from last year included statements like: It must seize this rare opportunity to achieve quick results in an unstable situation (October 18, 2024), Consider pre-emptive military talks for external justification and enemy deception before and after conflict (October 23, 2024), and Prioritize arrests and searches for proclamation violations (October 27, 2024). A note from November 9 2024, listed prominent political figures: Lee Jae Myung, Cho Kuk, Han Dong-hoon, Jeong Cheong-rae, Kim Min-seok.
While these notes were initially discovered during last year’s martial law investigation, this marks the first time their contents have been fully revealed to support the foreign affairs allegations against former President Yoon.
Special Counsel Park remarked that the process of confirming these unthinkable scenarios as fact has left the entire investigative team feeling not just disappointed, but utterly devastated.
The Special Counsel team withheld specific details about the notes, citing national security concerns.
Investigators concluded that Yoon and his associates directed the drone operations with intentions beyond standard military objectives. They aimed to create conditions for martial law, and the drone crash in Pyongyang was deemed to have caused actual military harm to South Korea.
The treason charge under South Korean law can result in life imprisonment or a minimum three-year sentence for actions that harm the nation’s military interests or benefit an enemy state.
While some speculated that Yoon might face the more serious charge of inducing foreign aggression, which carries a potential death sentence, prosecutors determined that proving collusion with foreign entities would be too difficult.
The Special Counsel team announced that Lee Seung-oh, former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations, will not face treason charges. They concluded he was unaware of any martial law motivations behind the drone operations.
Similarly, other high-ranking military officials, including former National Intelligence Service Director Moon Sang-ho, who were involved in North Korea-related operations just before the alleged martial law plans, will not be prosecuted.
Special Counsel Park explained that the key factor in our prosecution decisions was whether individuals were aware of the intent to create conditions for martial law. Those who believed they were engaged in standard military operations were not charged with treason.
With these indictments, the Special Counsel has concluded its investigation into the foreign affairs suspicions as mandated by the Special Prosecutor Act.
The Act specifically called for an investigation into allegations of using North Korea, through actions like the Pyongyang drone infiltration, to provoke war or armed conflict. It also covered attempts to declare martial law as a means of inciting rebellion and military insurrection.