"We Need to Wait and See on Yoon's Treason Charges"
As the special prosecutor team led by Cho Eunseok (known as the “Insurrection Special Prosecutor”) continues its investigation into allegations of insurrection and treason related to the 12·3 Martial Law, and has requested an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Sukyeol on charges including abuse of power, Boo Seungchan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, argued, “Apache helicopters, anti-North Korean leaflets, and loudspeakers can only be explained as pretexts for martial law.”
On July 7, during an appearance on CBS Radio’s “Kim Hyunjung’s News Show,” Boo stated, “The ‘Pyongyang UAV infiltration’ incident was intentional, and during related National Assembly audits, I repeatedly questioned then-National Security Advisor Shin Wonsik and Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun about whether martial law would be declared. Their responses, between the lines, amounted to ‘How can we declare martial law when North Korea is not provoking us, and would the military even comply?’ In the end, the only variable that could make the military comply with a martial law order is North Korea,” he said.
In October of last year, North Korea claimed that South Korea had sent UAVs to scatter anti-North Korean leaflets (pira). There were also claims that a South Korean civic group might have attached the leaflets to drones and sent them across the border.
Regarding this, Boo explained, “According to the Defense Acquisition Program Act and the directive on the development of defense capabilities, any weapon intended for military operations must undergo an operational capability evaluation,” and added, “Only weapons that have passed this evaluation can be used in military operations.” He continued, “Weapon systems that have not gone through the proper procedures are transferred for management to drone companies via the Agency for Defense Development (ADD),” and said, “This was our initial focus.” He added, “The weapon acquisition process must be followed, but in this case, it was not,” and said, “I pointed this out during the National Assembly audit, but I did not expect it would lead to martial law.”
Regarding the fact that the special prosecutor team requested a pre-arrest warrant for former President Yoon but did not specify treason charges, Boo said, “We need to watch a bit more regarding the treason charges,” and explained, “The Constitution requires collusion with a foreign country for treason, but there is debate over whether North Korea constitutes a foreign country, and even if there was collusion, it is not easy to prove that North Korea actually responded.”
Meanwhile, Boo commented on the request for an arrest warrant for former President Yoon, saying, “It was expected.” He added, “There have already been investigations by the prosecution, police, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials regarding the insurrection, and although there are still unresolved questions about the involvement of the National Security Office, the prosecution, and the National Intelligence Service, there is already sufficient evidence to explain many aspects.”
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