A special counsel team demanded a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of benefiting the enemy by allegedly ordering military drones over Pyongyang in 2024. The team, led by Cho Eun-suk, also requested 25 years for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on the same charges. Prosecutors believe the October 2024 dispatch aimed to provoke North Korean retaliation as a pretext for Yoon's failed martial law bid.
In a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on April 24, the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk demanded a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of benefiting the enemy through the alleged drone dispatch. The team also sought 25 years for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. The trial was held behind closed doors due to national security concerns.
The team argued that the October 2024 dispatch over Pyongyang was intended to incite North Korean retaliation, providing a pretext for Yoon's martial law declaration two months later. "Due to this criminal act, the country's military interests were severely undermined as there was substantial harm to national security," the team said, accusing the two of a "crime against the state and the people."
Pyongyang accused Seoul of multiple drone incursions at the time and released images of a crashed drone. The special counsel noted that this heightened inter-Korean tensions and leaked military secrets.
Earlier this month, the team demanded 20 years for Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and five years for Kim Yong-dae, former chief of the Drone Operations Command. Yoon, currently in custody, faces multiple trials linked to his botched martial law bid on Dec. 3, 2024. In February, a district court sentenced him to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection.
