Shock in Seoul: Ousted president Yoon could face execution

According to the special prosecutor, a new case has been formally brought against the former president, charging him with “assisting an enemy state.”

Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young told reporters that the case follows ongoing judicial investigations related to the declaration of martial law.

On 3 December last year, Yoon Suk-Yeol announced the dissolution of the National Assembly and declared martial law in an evening address.

The declaration provoked intense protests in South Korea and the next day the parliament annulled it. As protests escalated, the assembly impeached the president and removed him from office.

Earlier this year prosecutors opened a special investigation to examine whether Yoon had ordered drones to fly over North Korea to provoke Pyongyang and thereby bolster his push to declare martial law.

Special Prosecutor Park Ji-Young said the special investigative advisory team has accused the former president of “generally supplying aid to the enemy” and of abusing his power.

He added that Yoon and others “conspired to create conditions that would allow for the declaration of an emergency martial law, thereby increasing the risk of armed confrontation between the two Koreas and harming common military interests.”

Park said convincing evidence was found in a memorandum written last October by a former counter-intelligence commander, which emphasized “creating an unstable situation or exploiting an emerging opportunity.”

The special prosecutor reported that the memo stated the South Korean military should target places that “would cause [North Korea] to lose face so that a response would be inevitable, such as Pyongyang.”