South Korea: Special counsel additionally indicts ex-President Yoon on charges of aiding enemy

Seoul, Nov 10 A South Korea's special counsel team additionally indicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday on charges of aiding the enemy with his alleged dispatch of drones to North Korea last year.

The team, led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk, also charged Yoon with abuse of power in connection with the order, which was allegedly given to provoke the North's retaliation and use it as a pretext for his declaration of martial law in December.

The special counsel team has been investigating various allegations surrounding Yoon's failed bid to impose martial law and previously charged him with obstructing his detention by investigators in January and violating the rights of Cabinet members in the process of declaring the decree.

Separately, Yoon was indicted by prosecutors on charges of leading an insurrection through his martial law bid and has been jailed since July while standing trial.

The special counsel team said it also indicted former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defence Counterintelligence Command, on charges of aiding the enemy and abusing their power in the drone case, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim Yong-dae, head of the Drone Operations Command, was also indicted without physical detention on charges of obstructing official duties and soliciting the drafting of false official documents.

In Yoon's case, the special counsel team had reportedly been considering applying charges of inciting foreign aggression, which required evidence he had conspired with an enemy state.

Instead, it opted for the charge of "benefiting the enemy in general," based on its judgment that the drone dispatch in October 2024 led to the leak of military secrets to the North as the vehicles crashed near Pyongyang.

Earlier on November 8, Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appear for questioning by a special counsel team over his alleged interference in a military probe into the 2023 death of a young Marine.

Special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's team had summoned Yoon on November 3, ordering him to appear for questioning on November 8.

The special counsel team had previously demanded his appearance on October 23, but the former president did not comply, citing the trial schedules of his lawyers.

Yoon, who is in custody over his failed bid to impose martial law in December, is separately accused of abusing his power and aiding a criminal's flight in connection with the Marine's case.

Investigators suspect he had ordered the presidential office and the defence ministry to reverse the initial findings of a military probe into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun in order to relieve a then Marine commander of responsibility.

The former president is also suspected of helping former Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup evade responsibility by appointing him ambassador to Australia in March 2024.

The late Marine died in July 2023 after being swept away in a swollen stream during a search mission for victims of heavy rains, without wearing proper safety equipment, such as a life vest.

Earlier on November 7, Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, were set to appear in court in their separate trials, the first time both have appeared on the same day since their arrests.

Yoon was scheduled to attend one of his trials related to his failed martial law imposition in December over his alleged attempt to obstruct his detention by investigators in January and involvement in deleting secure phone records from servers.

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