Trial begins for former South Korean president Yoon over Pyongyang drone allegations
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Investigators say the drone had ultimately crashed near Pyongyang, leaking sensitive military and operational data.
PHOTO: ASIA NEWS NETWORK/THE KOREAN HERALD
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SEOUL – Another trial began on Dec 1 for former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, this time over his alleged involvement in South Korean military drones being flown over Pyongyang in 2024.
The drone deployment, the investigators argue, was aimed at goading North Korea into retaliatory actions that could justify declaring emergency martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court kicked off its first preparatory hearing at 2.10pm for Yoon and two former senior defence officials — former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and former defence security command chief Yeo In-hyung.
All three face charges of general espionage, a serious offence under the Criminal Act, as well as abuse of authority. Defendants were not required to attend the preparatory session.
According to the special counsel team investigating the broader Dec 3 martial law case, Yoon and his aides ordered the Drone Operations Command to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle to Pyongyang in early October 2024, hoping to trigger a hostile North Korean reaction that could justify imposing martial law.
Investigators say the drone breached North Korean airspace on multiple nights – Oct 3, 6 and 9 – and ultimately crashed near Pyongyang, leaking sensitive military and operational data.
Prosecutors also argue that the crash itself constituted a violation of national security laws.
A memo to himself recovered from Yeo’s cellphone has been cited as key evidence.
In it, Yeo wrote: “In an unstable situation, we must seize and exploit a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can produce immediate results. To do so, we must either create instability or exploit instability when it arises.”
Prosecutors argue that the note reflects intent to instigate a North Korean response.
The special counsel initially considered charging Yoon with foreign incitement, a more severe espionage offence requiring collusion with an enemy state, but instead applied the charge of general espionage, which covers acts that harm South Korea’s military interests or benefit an enemy state.
Under the Criminal Act, general espionage carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a minimum of three years in prison.
North Korea publicly accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang in October 2024
On Oct 11, 2024, Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry said drones had infiltrated the capital under cover of night and dropped anti-regime leaflets over the Central Party complex, calling it a grave military and political provocation that violated state sovereignty and international law.
The Korean Central News Agency also released photos purportedly showing the drone and the leaflet-drop operation.
An hour after issuing its statement, North Korea resumed its own campaign of launching balloons filled with waste across the border.
On Oct 14, 2024, Ms Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement accusing the South Korean military of dispatching unmanned drones carrying anti-regime leaflets into Pyongyang.
In the message released through the KCNA, she said, “We clearly know that the main culprit behind the Pyongyang drone incident is the trash of the South Korean military.”
South Korea’s Defence Intelligence Agency confirmed in a closed-door parliamentary briefing held in November that South Korean military drones had entered North Korean airspace in early October 2024 – a revelation that intensified scrutiny of Yoon’s actions in the weeks leading up to the Dec 3 martial law declaration.
Yoon, Kim Yong-hyun, Yeo In-hyung and Drone Operations Command chief Kim Yong-dae (indicted without detention) are accused of ordering the operation, concealing related documents, and instructing subordinates to falsify official records.
Preparatory hearing on Dec 5 will set the scope and structure of the trial, including evidence submissions and witness lists.
The case is expected to become one of the most politically consequential prosecutions in recent decades, given its implications for presidential authority, civil-military oversight and the legality of 2024’s martial law declaration. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
