Ex-South Korea President Yoon tried to provoke Pyongyang into armed aggression, prosecutor says

SEOUL: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to provoke North Korea into mounting an armed aggression to justify his December 2024 martial law declaration and eliminate political opponents, a special prosecutor said on Monday (Dec 15).

The special prosecutor, Cho Eun-seok, told a briefing that his team had indicted 24 people, including Yoon and five Cabinet members, on insurrection charges following a six-month investigation.

“We know well from historic experience the justification given by those in power for a coup is only a facade and the sole purpose is to monopolise and maintain power,” Cho said.

Cho said his team has confirmed an elaborate scheme allegedly masterminded by Yoon and his defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, going back to October 2023 to suspend the powers of parliament and replace it with an emergency legislative body.

“To create justification for declaring martial law, they tried to lure North Korea into mounting an armed aggression, but failed as North Korea did not respond militarily,” he said.

The special prosecutor’s team has previously accused Yoon and his military commanders of ordering a covert drone operation into the North to inflame tensions between the neighbours.

Subsequently, Yoon conspired to brand political opponents, including the then-leader of his conservative People Power Party, as anti-state forces and declared martial law without justification, Cho said.

Cho was among three special prosecutors appointed after President Lee Jae Myung was elected president in a snap election called after Yoon’s removal by the Constitutional Court in April.