Special Prosecutor Indicts Yoon on General Treason Charges: "Used Military Standoff to Declare Martial Law"

Former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong's Memo Revealed:
"Minimum Security Crisis, Maximum Noah's Flood"
Special Prosecutor: "Increased Risk of Armed Conflict to Create Conditions for Martial Law"

Former President Yoon Sukyeol is attending the trial on charges of obstruction of official duties held on the 26th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul.

The special prosecutor's team led by Cho Eunseok, which is investigating the "foreign intervention allegations" related to the December 3 Martial Law, has brought former President Yoon Sukyeol and others to trial.

On November 10, the special prosecutor's team indicted former President Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun, and former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong on charges of general treason and abuse of authority. Kim Yongdae, Commander of the Drone Operations Command, was indicted without detention on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception and instigating the creation of false official documents.

After a lengthy investigation, the special prosecutor's team applied the charge of general treason. General treason can be established if one harms the military interests of the Republic of Korea or provides military benefits to an enemy state, regardless of "collusion." Initially, the special prosecutor's team had considered charging Yoon and others with foreign intervention, which requires collusion with an enemy state.

According to the special prosecutor's team, around October last year, former President Yoon and others are accused of ordering the deployment of a drone to Pyongyang via the Drone Operations Command, with the aim of provoking North Korea militarily to create a pretext for declaring martial law. Former President Yoon denies the allegations.

The special prosecutor's team determined the targets and scope of prosecution as narrowly as possible, taking into account the nature of the military operation and the national security situation, and excluded all junior and field-grade officers from prosecution.

At a briefing, Special Prosecutor Park Jiyoung stated, "Yoon Sukyeol, Kim Yonghyun, Yeo Inhyeong, and others conspired to undermine the military interests of the Republic of Korea by increasing the risk of armed conflict between the North and South in order to create conditions for declaring martial law."

During the investigation, the special prosecutor's team also secured a memo left by former Commander Yeo on his mobile phone. The memo included statements such as "We must create an unstable situation or seize an opportunity created," "Minimum security crisis, maximum Noah's flood," and "Priority on arrest and search for violations of the proclamation," indicating attempts to create military tension to justify declaring martial law.

Special Prosecutor Park stated, "As a citizen, I had hoped these suspicions would remain mere suspicions," adding, "The process of confirming through evidence that the unthinkable was true left everyone involved in the investigation not only disappointed but deeply devastated."

He continued, "The fact that the President, who is the commander-in-chief responsible for national security, and the Minister of National Defense attempted to exploit the inter-Korean military standoff to create conditions for martial law is an act that could endanger public safety and can never be tolerated."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.