Attorney Kim Gye-ri, a member of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's defense team, argued that the reason she shed tears right after the first-instance verdict in Yoon's Pyongyang drone allegations case was not because a heavy sentence was handed down, but because of the security environment she confronted while preparing the defense.
On the 13th, Kim wrote on her Facebook page, I did not cry because the president (Yoon Suk-yeol) received a 30-year sentence, and added, I did not cry even when a life sentence as a leader of an insurrection was handed down.
She went on, The times I cried while preparing the defense were when I analyzed the espionage directives involving the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and realized, with chills and fear, that there are far too many spies deeply embedded and operating covertly in our society.
On the 12th, as she left the court after the sentencing, Kim became choked up in front of reporters while saying, While preparing this case, not once did I think a guilty verdict would be delivered.
Kim also said this trial should have been broadcast. She said, I believe this case, of all cases, should have been broadcast and recorded, adding, I am confident that if the trial had been broadcast and made public, they would not have dared to deliver a guilty verdict.
Kim also criticized the security policies of the Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung administrations. Kim said, The Moon Jae-in administration eliminated the National Intelligence Service (NIS)'s counterespionage investigative authority, and the Lee Jae-myung administration dismantled the Defense Counterintelligence Command, adding, The Lee Jae-myung administration is dismantling the independent Drone Operations Command established by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
She continued, They are crushing the military into pieces, and said, I fear where Korea will be at the end of this insurrection-mongering frenzy.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 36 (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-yeop) on the 12th sentenced former President Yoon to 30 years in prison on charges of general aiding the enemy and abuse of power by interfering with the exercise of rights. Former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung were sentenced to 30 years and 15 years in prison, respectively.
The court found former President Yoon, former Minister Kim, and former commander Yeo guilty on all counts of general aiding the enemy. It concluded they sought to provoke a military response from North Korea through an operation to deploy drones over Pyongyang around Oct. 2024 and use that as grounds to declare martial law.
The court said, This operation was carried out by former Minister Kim at a time when North Korea was not floating trash balloons, and added, It is recognized as an operation to create conditions for declaring martial law and cannot be viewed as a legitimate military operation.