Kim Yong-dae, commander of the Drone Operations Command, attends the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the special prosecutor's office for insurrection is located, for questioning on July 17. Yonhap News

The arrest warrant sought by the special prosecutor’s team for the insurrection case against Kim Yong-dae, commander of the Drone Operations Command and a key suspect in the 'Pyongyang drone incident allegations,' has been rejected.

On July 21, Nam Se-jin, chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, reviewed the case during a pre-arrest investigation (warrant examination) for Commander Kim. He stated, "Considering that detention would excessively restrict the suspect’s right to defense, it is difficult to acknowledge the grounds and reasonableness of detention," and subsequently dismissed the warrant requested by the special prosecutor’s team.

Judge Nam added, "The suspect generally admits to the facts, basic evidence has been collected, and factors such as the suspect’s attendance and demeanor during the investigation, as well as the suspect’s career, residence, and family relationships were also taken into consideration."

It appears the court also determined that detention was unnecessary, noting that Commander Kim had shown psychological instability, including writing a will, during the special prosecutor’s investigation, but had since recovered.

Commander Kim is accused of fabricating documents to conceal the fact that drones were sent to Pyongyang, North Korea, in October of last year, on charges of forgery and use of forged documents.

According to the ‘Reconnaissance Drone Company Proficiency Flight Training’ document from the Drone Operations Command, obtained and released by Rep. Bu Seung-chan of the Democratic Party of Korea, it was recorded that the Drone Operations Command conducted flights with two of our military’s drones (Unit 74 and Unit 75) on October 15 of last year.

However, in reality, only Unit 75 completed its flight, and there is an internal testimony stating that "there was an order from superiors to report that Unit 74, which did not fly, was lost due to an unknown cause."

The special prosecutor’s team suspects that Unit 74, which was reported as lost, crashed in Pyongyang six days prior, and that the fabricated flight report and loss declaration were attempts to conceal the fact that drones were sent to North Korea.

There are also accusations of deleting drone flight log records and removing the leaflet dispensers attached to the drones.

Commander Kim generally admits to these facts. However, he maintains that the nature of a secret military operation must be considered. He emphasizes that it was a normal operation unrelated to the martial law.

The special prosecutor’s team is expected to carefully review the grounds for the rejection of the arrest warrant and decide whether to re-apply for one.

The special prosecutor’s team views Commander Kim as a 'key person' who can shed light on former President Yoon's alleged foreign exchange-related offenses.

The special prosecutor’s team's foreign exchange investigation is focused on the allegation that former President Yoon, in an attempt to build a justification for declaring martial law, bypassed the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and directly ordered the Drone Operations Command to deploy drones to Pyongyang in October of last year.

Following comprehensive searches and seizures of the Drone Operations Command and the Ministry of National Defense on the 14th, the team is collecting testimonies from military officials.

Park Ji-young, a special prosecutor, stated at a briefing on the same day, "The drone incident is directly related to national security and interests, so extreme caution is being exercised in the investigation process. Investigations involving individuals who require extreme confidentiality are being conducted within military installations."

Depending on the progress of the investigation, there is a possibility that former President Yoon may face additional charges related to foreign exchange offenses.

The special prosecutor’s team had indicted former President Yoon on charges of abuse of power on the 19th, but did not include the foreign exchange charges due to ongoing investigations.

Yonhap News