Seoul, July 21 South Korea's defence ministry said on Monday that it has suspended the head of the Drone Operations Command over suspicions that military drones were illegally dispatched to North Korea last year as part of preparations for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law.
Maj. Gen. Kim Yong-dae, commander of the unit, was separated from his duties Monday pending suspension, the defence ministry said, a day after an arrest warrant was sought for him in connection with the investigation into Yoon's failed martial law bid last December.
A special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk filed for the warrant for Kim, who has been in custody, on charges that include forging official documents.
The investigation team suspects Yoon gave direct orders to the drone commander in October last year to dispatch drones to North Korea without reporting to the defence ministry or the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), aiming to provoke military provocations from North Korea to allegedly justify the martial law imposition.
Kim has squarely denied his role, refuting any connection between the drone dispatch to the North and Yoon's martial law declaration and arguing that the drone dispatch proceeded legally under the JCS's orders as part of response measures to the North's balloon campaigns against the South.
The Seoul Central District Court was set to hold a hearing on whether to grant the arrest warrant for Kim on Monday afternoon, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier on July 20, Special Counsel Cho Eun-suk's team detained the head of the Drone Operations Command and sought a warrant to formally arrest him over charges related to Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law attempt.
Maj. Gen. Kim Yong-dae was detained without a warrant, a day after the special counsel team questioned him over charges of benefiting the enemy, drafting fabricated documents and power abuse.
"We requested an arrest warrant for Commander Kim," the special counsel team had said in a notice to the press.
"We requested the arrest warrant based on crimes we have verified so far, as there was reason to place him in custody."
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