Seoul, Dec 17 (NationPress) The South Korean military dispatched propaganda leaflets to North Korea a minimum of 23 times last year during the administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. This action followed a directive from the prior year to reinstate leaflet operations, as reported by a lawmaker on Wednesday.

The information was revealed by the office of ruling party Representative Choo Mi-ae, referencing findings from a defense ministry investigation. This disclosure arises as Yoon confronts allegations of sending drones into North Korea last year, purportedly to incite a response and use it as justification for his martial law declaration in December.

The National Security Council sanctioned the revival of leaflet operations in October 2023. These operations took place from February to November of last year, just prior to Yoon's unsuccessful attempt to declare martial law on December 3, as per the investigation's results provided to Choo's office.

This resolution by the security council came shortly after the Constitutional Court deemed a law prohibiting such campaigns unconstitutional in September 2023, citing the principle of freedom of expression. Leaflet activities had been halted since July 2017.

Former Defence Minister Shin Won-sik, former Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, and various security officials participated in the security council meeting to deliberate on the resumption. However, critical details, including the rationale behind the approval, remain undisclosed due to the classification of the meeting's results.

After this decision, conveyed to the military by Shin late in 2023, the military's propaganda unit circulated leaflets across 35 targeted areas, encompassing major North Korean cities like Pyongyang and Wonsan, as well as military installations, between February 18 and November 15.

North Korea has consistently reacted negatively to the military's loudspeaker transmissions and leaflets sent by activists, fearing the influx of external information that could threaten its regime.

In May of the previous year, North Korea resumed its own leaflet initiatives, launching thousands of trash-filled balloons into South Korea, alleging that Seoul had initiated the leaflet campaigns against its government, according to Yonhap News Agency.

This latest information follows the conclusion of a special counsel team earlier this week, which determined that Yoon began preparing for his brief martial law imposition around October 2023, well over a year before the official declaration on December 3, 2024.

Subsequent to this conclusion, the defense ministry has initiated a special investigative unit to further examine allegations concerning the military's involvement in the martial law attempt.