A special prosecutor's team investigating former president Yoon Suk-yeol, led by prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, requested an arrest warrant for General Kim Yong-dae, commander of the South Korean military's Drone Operations Command, on 20/7.
General Kim Yong-dae was summoned by prosecutors on 17/7 in connection with allegations that former president Yoon ordered a covert operation involving drones entering North Korean airspace to create tension, using this as a pretext to declare martial law in December 2024. Yoon has denied these allegations.
Kim was arrested on 18/7 before the official warrant was requested. South Korean prosecutors and police have the authority to make emergency arrests without a court order for individuals suspected of serious crimes, who are likely to flee or destroy evidence.
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General Kim Yong-dae, head of the South Korean military's Drone Operations Command. Photo: Chosun |
General Kim Yong-dae, head of the South Korean military's Drone Operations Command. Photo: Chosun
The special prosecutor's team is investigating Kim on charges of treason, document forgery, and abuse of power. They used the forgery charge to obtain the arrest warrant.
Boo Seung-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, previously released documents indicating that a company was ordered to deploy two UAVs on 15/10/2024. However, only one flight took place, and testimony from within the unit suggests "they were instructed to report that the UAV disappeared for unknown reasons during a normal flight."
The missing UAV appears to have crashed in Pyongyang a few days earlier, raising suspicions that information about the aircraft's operation was falsified to conceal its flight to North Korea.
Pyongyang claimed at the time that a South Korean military drone had entered its airspace "for political purposes" and warned of a strong response if such an incident recurred. The South Korean Ministry of National Defense stated that the North Korean claims were "not worth verifying or responding to."
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A suspected South Korean military drone caught in a tree in a photo released by North Korea in October 2024. Photo: KCNA |
A suspected South Korean military drone caught in a tree in a photo released by North Korea in October 2024. Photo: KCNA
The special prosecutor's team suspects former president Yoon directly ordered the company under Kim's command to deploy the UAV to Pyongyang, bypassing the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
However, Kim stated that the operation was carried out under JCS directives in response to North Korea sending trash-filled balloons into South Korea. He asserts there is no connection between the UAV mission and the martial law order, as he never received separate instructions from the South Korean Presidential Office or Yoon Suk-yeol.
Former president Yoon was arrested again on 10/7 due to concerns he might destroy evidence in the ongoing investigation. Yoon has refused to participate in questioning but appeared in court on 18/7 for a hearing to request the cancellation of his arrest warrant. The court denied his request.
Nguyen Tien (According to Yonhap, Reuters, AP)
