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The President, the Drone, and the Plot to Engineer a Crisis

Monday, 10 November 2025 13:58

Summary

The indictment of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of 'benefiting the enemy' marks an unprecedented legal and political crisis for the nation. Prosecutors allege that in October 2024, Mr Yoon, along with his former defence minister and counterintelligence chief, ordered unauthorised military drone flights deep into North Korean airspace, including over Pyongyang. The core accusation is that this covert operation was not a legitimate reconnaissance mission but a deliberate, calculated attempt to provoke a military response from the North. This manufactured crisis, investigators contend, was intended to serve as a pretext to justify the former president's subsequent, short-lived declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024. The new charges, which are comparable to treason and carry a potential death sentence, add a profound layer of gravity to the existing trial for masterminding a rebellion, placing the former leader at the centre of a constitutional and security firestorm.

The Indictment of a Former President

On Monday, 10 November 2025, South Korea’s political crisis deepened with the announcement of new criminal charges against former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The special counsel team, led by prosecutor Cho Eun-suk, indicted Mr Yoon, along with two of his former top defence officials, on charges of ‘benefiting the enemy in general’ and ‘abuse of power’. The two co-defendants are former Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun and Yeo In-hyung, the former commander of the military’s counterintelligence agency. These new allegations stem from a covert military operation involving the dispatch of drones into North Korean airspace in October 2024.

The indictment alleges that the former president directed the drone missions to deliberately heighten military tensions with Pyongyang. The ultimate purpose of this alleged provocation was to create a justification for the declaration of emergency martial law, which Mr Yoon attempted to impose on 3 December 2024. The former president is already detained and standing trial for masterminding a rebellion related to that failed martial law declaration. The charge of masterminding a rebellion is one of the most severe in the South Korean legal code, carrying a potential sentence of life imprisonment or even capital punishment. The new charge of ‘benefiting the enemy’ is a national security offence that is also comparable to treason. Under the South Korean Criminal Act, a conviction for this offence can result in the death penalty, imprisonment with labour for an indefinite term, or a term of not less than five years. The special counsel team stated that the trio ‘undermined the military interests of the Republic of Korea by increasing the danger of a South-North armed conflict’. The investigation also indicted Kim Yong-dae, the head of the Drone Operations Command, on charges including falsifying official documents and destruction of military property. Mr Yoon’s defence team has previously maintained that the former president was not informed of the drone flights.

The Engineered Pretext for Martial Law

The central narrative of the prosecution’s case is that the drone operation was a calculated political manoeuvre designed to manufacture a crisis. Compelling evidence cited by the special counsel includes a memo recovered from the phone of former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung. This memo, written in the run-up to the martial law declaration, reportedly contained phrases such as, ‘We must create or seize instability’ and ‘The enemy must act first’. The document also suggested that the military should target places that would force a response from the North, specifically naming the capital, Pyongyang, and the major coastal city of Wonsan. The memo further listed the residence of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and two nuclear facilities as potential targets for the drones. This evidence suggests a clear intent to engineer a military standoff to create the necessary conditions for imposing military rule on the civilian population.

North Korea’s state media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), had previously claimed that South Korean drones flew over Pyongyang on three separate occasions in October 2024, dropping propaganda leaflets critical of the regime. At the time, the Yoon administration refused to publicly confirm or deny the claims, with the military initially offering a vague denial before stating it could not confirm the North’s claims. The special counsel’s investigation concluded that the missions were carried out by the Drone Operations Command. Furthermore, the prosecution alleges that the operation compromised South Korea’s defence interests because drones crashed during the mission, exposing classified operational data to the North. North Korea later published photos of what it described as the remains of a crashed South Korean military drone, claiming that an analysis of the flight control program uncovered over 230 flight plans dating back to June 2023. The North’s defence ministry asserted that one drone, which crashed on 8 October, had set off from Baengnyeong Island and released leaflets over the foreign and defence ministry buildings in Pyongyang. In response to the alleged incursions, Pyongyang sent balloons filled with waste materials across the border and issued a harsh statement under Kim Yo-jong, the sister of the North Korean leader. The North also ordered its army units near the border to be ready to launch strikes and blew up roads connecting the two countries.

The Constitutional Crisis and the Fall from Power

The drone charges are inextricably linked to the constitutional crisis that led to Mr Yoon’s removal from office. On 3 December 2024, the then-President shocked the nation by imposing martial law, sending armed soldiers to surround the National Assembly in a bid to stop lawmakers from voting down his declaration. The declaration was withdrawn just hours later after the National Assembly voted to repeal it. When announcing martial law, Mr Yoon briefly cited ‘threats from North Korean communist forces’ but primarily focused his justification on his political battles with the liberal-controlled parliament, which he called a ‘den of criminals’ and ‘anti-state forces’. The opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached him, and he was formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He was detained in a dawn raid in January 2025, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be taken into custody. He was detained a second time in July 2025.

The political fallout from the martial law attempt was immediate and severe. Following his removal, voters elected his liberal rival, Lee Jae Myung, as the new president in a general election in June 2025. President Lee Jae Myung subsequently approved legislation that launched independent investigations into Mr Yoon’s martial law attempt and other criminal allegations involving his administration. The special counsel team leading the investigation was established to examine whether the drone operation was an illegal attempt to provoke the North and use its reaction as a pretext for declaring military rule. Mr Yoon has consistently denied that he ever intended to impose military rule, claiming he declared martial law to protect democracy from ‘anti-state’ elements and to sound the alarm about wrongdoing by opposition parties.

The Perilous Precedent of Cross-Border Provocation

The alleged drone operation represents a significant and highly provocative escalation in the long-standing military standoff between the two Koreas. The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. While both sides have a history of cross-border incursions, the alleged targeting of Pyongyang by a South Korean military drone is a particularly sensitive matter. North Korea views any breach of its airspace, especially over its capital, as a serious provocation and has threatened to treat future violations as a ‘declaration of war’.

Drone incursions across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) have been a recurring source of tension. In December 2022, five North Korean drones crossed into South Korean airspace, prompting Seoul to scramble aircraft and fire warning shots. In response to that incident, South Korea publicly announced that it had deployed its own surveillance drones northward over the DMZ, a move that was highly unusual at the time. The United Nations Command, which oversees the armistice, later concluded that both North and South Korea had violated the ceasefire agreement with their respective drone incursions in December 2022. The alleged October 2024 operation, however, moves beyond a tit-for-tat response to a direct, covert action allegedly ordered by the head of state with the explicit political goal of manufacturing a domestic crisis. The prosecution’s case suggests that the former president was willing to risk a major inter-Korean armed confrontation and compromise national security for the sake of a domestic political objective. The fact that the alleged missions resulted in the loss of drones and the exposure of classified operational data is a key component of the ‘benefiting the enemy’ charge.

Conclusion

The indictment of a former head of state on charges of ‘benefiting the enemy’ and ‘abuse of power’ over a covert military operation is a moment of profound reckoning for South Korea’s democracy. The legal proceedings against Mr Yoon Suk Yeol, which now encompass both the attempted declaration of martial law and the alleged drone provocation, will test the resilience of the nation’s constitutional framework and its commitment to civilian rule. The prosecution’s narrative of a calculated attempt to engineer a military crisis to justify a domestic political power grab paints a picture of a former leader willing to destabilise the precarious peace on the Korean Peninsula for personal political ends. As the trials proceed, the case will not only determine the fate of a former president but will also set a critical precedent for the limits of executive power and the definition of treason in a nation that remains technically at war. The severity of the charges, which include the possibility of the death penalty, underscores the gravity of the allegations and the deep political divisions that continue to plague the Republic of Korea.

References

  1. THE DEATH PENALTY IN LAW AND IN PRACTICE - ECPM

    Used to verify the legal penalties for 'Benefiting the Enemy in General' under the South Korean Criminal Act, including the potential for the death penalty or life imprisonment.

  2. South Korea's ousted leader Yoon indicted for flying drones over North Korea - CTPost

    Used to confirm the date of the new charges (Monday, Nov 10, 2025), the specific charges ('benefiting the enemy' and 'abuse of power'), the link to the martial law declaration, the role of President Lee Jae Myung, and the severity of the rebellion charge.

  3. Ex-South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol facing new “aiding an enemy State” criminal charges that come with a death penalty. - The Swaziland News

    Used to confirm the 'aiding an enemy State' charge, the link to the martial law memo, the specific targets (Pyongyang, Wonsan), and Yoon's defence that he did not intend to impose military rule.

  4. South Korea indicts former president Yoon for aiding enemy over alleged drone flights

    Used to confirm the indictment details, the names of the indicted officials, the specific allegation of creating conditions for martial law, the quote from Prosecutor Park Ji-young, the timeline of his removal (April 2025), and the ongoing rebellion trial.

  5. Yoon indicted for 'acts benefiting enemy' over Pyongyang drone operation - The Korea Herald

    Used to detail the 'benefiting the enemy' charge, the specific dates of North Korea's claims (Oct 3, 6, 9, 2024), the memo quote ('We must create or seize instability'), the indictment of the Drone Operations Command head, and the allegation that the crashed drones exposed classified data.

  6. North Korea has accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital – what is going on?

    Used to provide context on North Korea's reaction (threats, artillery readiness), the nature of the alleged drone payload (leaflets), the 2022 drone incident, and the general sensitivity of the Pyongyang airspace.

  7. North Korea says it discovered the remains of a South Korean drone in Pyongyang

    Used to confirm North Korea's claim of finding a drone wreckage on Oct 13, 2024, the South's initial non-confirmation, and the North's threat of a retaliatory attack.

  8. South Korea's ousted president questioned over drone dispatch to North Korea

    Used to confirm the timeline of the martial law declaration (Dec 3, 2024) and its repeal, the date of Yoon's second detention (July 2025), and his refusal to testify to the special counsel.

  9. Former South Korean President Yoon indicted for benefiting enemy - Yeni Safak English

    Used to confirm the 'benefiting the enemy' charge as a severe allegation, the covert operation as a pretext for martial law, and the broader political implications of the unprecedented indictment.

  10. North Korea says analysis 'proved' South Korea to blame for drones - Radio Free Asia

    Used to detail North Korea's claim of analysing the drone's flight control program, the alleged flight path from Baengnyeongdo to Pyongyang, and the North's retaliatory action of blowing up roads.

  11. South Korea's ousted leader sent drones over Pyongyang to justify martial law

    Used to confirm the specific targets listed in the memo (Kim Jong Un's residence, nuclear facilities), the charge of compromising defence interests due to crashed drones, and the severity of the insurrection charge.

  12. Drones penetrate Korean DMZ in both directions - Asia Times

    Used to provide context on the December 2022 North Korean drone incursion and South Korea's highly unusual public response of sending its own drones north.

  13. North Korea Claims Discovery of South Korean Drone, Raising Military Tensions - Medium

    Used to establish the context of the DMZ as a source of tension, the North's view of airspace violation as a 'grave military provocation,' and the tit-for-tat psychological warfare.

  14. North Korea Sends Drones Into South Korea in Brazen Incursion - VOA

    Used to provide historical context on North Korean drone incursions (2014, 2017) and the South's response in December 2022.

  15. North and South Korea violated armistice with drones: UN Command | United Nations News

    Used to confirm the UN Command's finding that both Koreas violated the armistice with drone incursions in December 2022.