Special Counsel for Insurrection Seeks 30-Year Prison Term for Yoon Suk Yeol in Appeal Trial Over Pyongyang Drone Infiltration

The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok investigating the insurrection has demanded a 30-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his appellate trial on charges of aiding the enemy, matching the demand made in the first trial.

During the appellate sentencing hearing for former President Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and others on charges of aiding the enemy held today (the 16th) by the 1st Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik), the special counsel team requested a 30-year prison sentence for each of them.

Additionally, the special counsel requested a 20-year prison sentence for former Defense Security Commander Yeo In-hyung and a 5-year prison sentence for former Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae, who were indicted alongside them.

The sentence demanded for former President Yoon in the appellate trial is identical to the sentence demanded and handed down in the first trial.

For former Minister Kim, the prosecution demanded a 30-year prison term, which is heavier than the 25-year prison term demanded during the first trial.

The special counsel team emphasized, "The crimes in this case were committed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the defense minister, and the defense security commander who abused their military command and operational authorities to provoke North Korea's military aggression, willing to risk at least a localized conflict and at worst a full-scale war, all to manufacture a pretext for martial law under wartime conditions. The gravity of these crimes is even heavier than insurrection."

Regarding the first-instance ruling, the team pointed out, "It was unjust for the lower court to mitigate the sentence for Yeo In-hyung on the grounds of 'passive participation,' given that he attended every conspiracy meeting without exception and designed and proposed the creation of martial law conditions through memos." They also noted, "The suspended sentence given by the first instance to Kim Yong-dae, who systematically mobilized subordinate soldiers to cover up and fabricate serious crimes while denying his offenses, is excessively lenient."

Closing arguments and final statements by the legal teams and defendants Yoon and Kim are scheduled to take place during the afternoon session today.

Former President Yoon, former Minister Kim, and others are accused of ordering the Drone Operations Command to infiltrate Pyongyang with drones around October 2024 in order to fabricate conditions for declaring emergency martial law.

Charges of abuse of authority were also applied, alleging they abused their official power during the operational directive process to force soldiers to perform acts they had no obligation to do.

The first-instance court found most of the charges guilty and handed down heavy prison sentences to former President Yoon and former Minister Kim.

Previously, former Commander Yeo In-hyung, who was briefed on the operation and advised on the timing of the emergency martial law, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while former Commander Kim Yong-dae, who directly directed the operation, was sentenced to 3 years in prison with a 5-year suspension of execution.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.