Martial law plot was Yoon’s plan all along, South Korean prosecutors say
Announcing the results of a massive 180-day inquiry on Monday, special prosecutors said Yoon Suk-yeol aimed to form a military junta
“It has been confirmed that Yoon and his inner circle had been preparing to declare martial law since before October 2023,” Cho said during a nationally televised briefing. “To fabricate a pretext for imposing martial law, they attempted to provoke North Korea into a military response through abnormal military operations.”
Prosecutors have brought charges against 24 people, including Yoon, who is accused of obstruction of justice, aiding the enemy and perjury.
He had already been charged, before the special counsel’s appointment in June, with insurrection and abuse of power related to the same martial plot.
South Korea’s Yoon plotted martial law all along, prosecutors say
According to prosecutors, retired army intelligence chief Noh Sang-won began drafting the martial law plan in October 2023, compiling lists of political figures “to be disposed of” in tandem with then presidential security head Kim Yong-hyun, who later served as South Korea’s defence minister.