(MENAFN) On Monday, South Korea formally indicted former President Yoon Suk Yeol for “benefiting the enemy” in connection with his alleged deployment of drones to North Korea last year.

The special counsel team additionally accused Yoon of abuse of authority, asserting that he commanded the drone mission in October with the intent to provoke retaliation from Pyongyang and use it as a rationale for a prospective declaration of martial law in December, according to a news agency.

Under the leadership of special counsel Cho Eun-suk, the team has been probing Yoon’s purported attempt to implement martial law.

Earlier, they had charged him with obstructing their efforts to detain him in January and infringing on Cabinet members’ rights during the martial law decree.

While the special counsel reportedly considered accusing Yoon of inciting foreign aggression, such a charge would have necessitated evidence of coordination with an enemy state.

Instead, investigators charged him with "benefiting the enemy in general," concluding that the October 2024 drone operation caused a leak of military secrets after the drones crashed near Pyongyang.

In addition to Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung were indicted for aiding the enemy and abusing their authority.

Kim Yong-dae, the head of the Drone Operations Command, also faced indictment without detention for obstructing official duties and directing the creation of falsified documents.

MENAFN10112025000045017167ID1110320750