Seoul, Dec 15 (NationPress) A special counsel investigation has concluded that former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol initiated preparations for a temporary martial law declaration in or before October 2023, significantly earlier than his official declaration in December 2024. The findings were revealed on Monday by the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk, which conducted a thorough 180-day investigation into the martial law attempts.

The investigation resulted in the indictment of 24 individuals, including the ousted president, former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong, and former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

The special counsel reported that Yoon's declaration of martial law was an act of insurrection aimed at eliminating political rivals and consolidating power, a claim that contradicts his assertions that the emergency measure was necessary to safeguard the nation from a perceived reckless opposition.

At a briefing in southern Seoul, Cho stated, "Yoon Suk Yeol and his associates sought to disrupt political activities and the National Assembly's operations by invoking military force, intending to eliminate opposing forces and usurp legislative and judicial authority through an emergency legislative body that would replace the National Assembly."

Yoon characterized the political activities at the National Assembly as anti-state actions and claimed that anti-state forces were plotting an insurrection, the counsel added.

The team highlighted that Yoon had frequently mentioned his emergency powers to various individuals since the beginning of his term in May 2022. For instance, during a dinner with leaders of the then-ruling People Power Party in November 2022, he asserted that he possessed emergency powers and would decisively deal with opposition, even at the cost of his life, as reported by the special counsel and confirmed by Yonhap.

As the military reshuffle approached in October 2023, Yoon and his aides intensified their martial law preparations, deliberating whether to implement the decree before or after the reshuffle and appointing key figures now implicated in the martial law case to high-ranking commander roles.

The special counsel team, comprising 238 members, including assistant special counsels, prosecutors, and investigators, indicted Yoon three times for charges including obstruction of justice, aiding an enemy, and perjury, all linked to the martial law scenario. Prior to the establishment of the special counsel in June, Yoon had already faced indictments from prosecutors for leading an insurrection and misusing his power.

The investigation revealed that Yoon appeared to plan for his martial law imposition by sending drones into North Korea to provoke a military response, which ultimately did not occur. Furthermore, Yoon attempted to frame the results of the April 2024 general election, which his party lost, as electoral fraud orchestrated by anti-state entities, including plans to arrest officials from the National Election Commission during the brief martial law period.