Associates of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 24th claimed that "an indictment by a political special counsel is an act benefiting the enemy," after prosecutors sought a 30-year prison term upon indicting him on charges of ordering the Drone Operations Command to carry out a mission to send an unmanned aircraft into Pyongyang to create grounds for the Dec. 3 emergency martial law.
Yoon's defense team said this at a press conference after the conclusion of the first-trial closing arguments in the case on charges including general aiding the enemy and obstruction of the exercise of rights by abuse of authority, held on the 24th before the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 36 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-yeop).
The defense team said, "Former President Yoon did not give prior orders for, or grant ex post facto approval to, the operation the special counsel takes issue with," adding, "The special counsel keeps making the false claim that an operation responding to North Korea's provocations was an act to create an emergency martial law situation."
The defense also said, "North Korea's feces-balloon provocations continued more than 7,000 times over several months," arguing, "The military's response operation was a legitimate exercise of self-defense and has nothing to do with emergency martial law."
It continued, "This case is an indictment fabricated in law and fact and should naturally result in an acquittal," adding, "Investigating and indicting the military operation that responded to North Korea's provocations is a self-harming act against the Republic of Korea's security by a political special counsel."
Song Jin-ho, an attorney for Yoon, said, "I oppose the crime of legal distortion, but it really makes me think it might be necessary." He continued, "The indictment's logic is that North Korea did not even carry out a serious provocation, so why did you do this and damage the prestige of North Korea's top leadership, causing them to provoke?" adding, "It argues that not damaging the prestige of North Korea's top leadership is more important than protecting the people's lives."
Attorney Bae Ui-cheol said, "Among the evidence presented by the special counsel was a statement from North Korea's Foreign Ministry," adding, "Is it really possible in Korea to accept and agree with North Korea's claims as they are, and on that basis seek punishment for the president of the free Republic of Korea and the Minister of the Ministry of National Defense?"
Former President Yoon was said to have spoken for about an hour in his final statement that day, to the effect that the drone operation was a legitimate military response.
That day, the special counsel team of Cho Eun-suk for insurrection asked the court to sentence former President Yoon to 30 years in prison and former Minister of the Ministry of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun to 25 years.
On the Pyongyang drone allegation, the special counsel team said it was "an anti-state, anti-people crime in which the commander in chief of the armed forces, who is responsible for the people's lives and safety, along with the Minister of the Ministry of National Defense and the counterintelligence commander, tried to create a wartime situation on the Korean Peninsula for the purpose of meeting the conditions for declaring emergency martial law."