South Korea’s special counsel team raided the military’s drone operations command Monday as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Led by Special Counsel Cho Eun-suk, the raid was part of a broader investigation into whether Yoon orchestrated a drone operation over North Korea in an attempt to fabricate a pretext for declaring martial law on Dec. 3.
Monday's raid marked a sign that the insurrection probe has expanded into treason charges. Some of Yoon's opponents have claimed the alleged attempt to provoke North Korea would amount to treason. Others dispute this, saying it is difficult to say this amounts to "aiding or plotting with an enemy," which would be required for a treason charge.
The special counsel team reportedly seeks evidence that drone units based in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, carried out a mission over Pyongyang in October under the direct orders of Yoon and then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Investigators are also looking into whether the military engaged in a coordinated effort to conceal the operation.
In October last year, North Korea claimed that South Korean drones had entered its airspace and dropped anti-regime leaflets over the capital. It released photos of an uncrewed aircraft, saying it had been recovered after crashing.
South Korea’s military initially denied the claim, later declining to confirm or deny whether the operation took place.
A fire later broke out at the drone command’s facility on Dec. 8 last year, days after Yoon's martial law declaration, fueling suspicions of a cover-up.
The military said it was a routine incineration of documents unrelated to the case. Investigators are examining whether there were coordinated efforts within the military to conceal the operation, including the destruction or withholding of key records.
The drone operations command, launched in 2023 as a joint unit of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, operates under the authority of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Monday’s search covered 24 military-related sites, including the Defense Ministry, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the National Security Office and the Defense Counterintelligence Command.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
