The special prosecutor for insurrection sought a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was indicted on charges of ordering a Pyongyang drone operation to create a pretext for declaring emergency martial law on Dec. 3. A 25-year prison term was sought for former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who was indicted alongside him.
The Criminal Agreement Division 36 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, senior judge) held the sentencing hearing on the 24th for the former president Yoon and the former minister Kim, who were indicted on charges including general aiding the enemy and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights. Because of concerns about exposing state security secrets due to the nature of the case, the trial was held behind closed doors.
The special prosecutor believes that around October last year, the former president Yoon and others ordered the Drone Operations Command to carry out a mission to send unmanned aerial vehicles to Pyongyang to induce a military response from North Korea and create grounds for declaring emergency martial law. The special prosecutor argued that during the actual operation, military tensions between the two Koreas rose, and that due to a drone crash, military secrets related to the operation and force structure were exposed externally, infringing on the nation's military interests.
The special prosecutor on this day characterized the actions of the former president Yoon and others as a "anti-state, anti-people crime." It also said, "This crime resulted in actual, substantial harm to national security, severely undermining the nation's military interests." Regarding the former president Yoon, it said he "led the crime as the commander in chief of the armed forces," and regarding the former minister Kim, it said he "led the crime with Yoon Suk-yeol from the conspiracy for emergency martial law through execution."
The charge of general aiding the enemy applied in this case can be established even without collusion with the enemy if one harms the Republic of Korea's military interests or provides military benefits to an enemy state. In the course of investigating alleged foreign exchange violations, the special prosecutor indicted the former president Yoon, the former minister Kim, and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung in November last year.
For Kim Yong-dae, former Drone Operations Commander, who directed the actual operation, charges including abuse of authority and incitement to destroy military property were applied instead of general aiding the enemy. Earlier, the special prosecutor sought a 20-year prison term for the former commander Yeo and a 5-year term for the former commander Kim.