South Korea’s special prosecutor on Monday announced additional charges against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of abusing power and aiding an enemy state during his short-lived attempt to impose martial law last year.
According to the prosecutor’s office, evidence retrieved from the mobile phone of a military official suggests that Yoon sought to provoke a military confrontation with North Korea as a pretext to declare martial law. The recovered notes reportedly contained terms such as “drones” and “surgical strike,” interpreted as possible plans for deliberate provocations.
Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April and is currently standing trial for insurrection linked to the failed martial law declaration. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. Throughout the investigation, Yoon has insisted that he never intended to overthrow the system but acted to expose alleged misconduct by opposition parties and safeguard the country from “anti-state elements.”
Prosecutor spokesperson Park Ji-young said the latest findings indicate that Yoon, along with former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun and former military intelligence chief Yeo In-hyung, conspired to incite North Korean retaliation. The trio allegedly aimed to heighten tensions within the Korean Peninsula to justify the imposition of emergency military rule.
Kim and Yeo were indicted on the same additional charges. Investigators also accuse the former administration of authorizing a secret drone operation into North Korean territory to escalate hostilities. Last October, North Korea accused the South of sending drones to distribute anti-Pyongyang leaflets and released images of what it said were the remains of a crashed South Korean military drone.
South Korea’s military has declined to comment on the allegations despite ongoing scrutiny. Kim is already on trial for his role in the martial law attempt, while Yeo has reportedly expressed regret for not resisting Yoon’s orders. Prosecutors, however, dismissed his explanations as inconsistent and unconvincing.
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