"Private Use of Military Power and Betrayal of the People"... Strong Rebuke

[Anchor]

The court, which sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison, strongly rebuked the former president—who has consistently denied the charges—stating that a president, who is sworn to protect the nation and its people, instead incited war.

Reporter Jang Hun-gyeong has the story.

[Reporter]

Throughout the trial, former President Yoon Suk Yeol argued that the drone operations were legitimate military actions in response to North Korea's trash-filled balloons.

However, the court did not accept this claim.

The court reprimanded him, stating, "Former President Yoon attempted to deliberately create a national emergency to exercise his authority to declare martial law, thereby putting the lives and property of our citizens and military at risk."

The court further rebuked him, saying, "He used the Republic of Korea's military power for private purposes unrelated to national security or the defense of the territory," adding that "this was a betrayal of the fundamental trust of the people."

In particular, the court noted, "The crime of insurrection (foreign aggression) can result in massive loss of life or the collapse of the state, making punishment effectively impossible after the fact, which is why it must be prevented in advance," and added that "the fact that North Korea did not actually carry out a provocation is not a mitigating factor for the defendants."

The court emphasized that a severe punishment is inevitable simply because the president attempted to push the nation into a war crisis.

[Jang Woo-sung / Special Prosecutor for Insurrection: This was a judgment on the hypocrisy of those responsible for national security, who abandoned national security for the sake of political interests and maintaining power.]

Previously, the court that presided over the charges of being the ringleader of the insurrection judged that the decision to declare martial law was made two days prior, stating, "It is difficult to see it as a long-planned declaration of martial law given how poorly prepared it was."

However, as the ruling yesterday (June 12) recognized the connection between the drone operations that had been ongoing since October 2024 and the declaration of martial law, it is expected to influence the appellate court's judgment regarding the timing of the decision to declare martial law in the insurrection case.

(Video Editing: Jeong Seong-hun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.