As the court sentenced President Yoon Suk-yeol to 30 years in prison on the 12th, President Yoon's legal team immediately released a statement saying, "The special prosecutor's investigation, indictment, and trial are acts of treason." [Photo = Yonhap News]

As the court sentenced President Yoon Suk-yeol to 30 years in prison on the 12th, President Yoon's legal team immediately released a statement saying, "The special prosecutor's investigation, indictment, and trial are acts of treason."

President Yoon's defense team stated, "Our military's dissemination of leaflets to North Korea via drones was a legitimate military operation in response to North Korea's attack with 7,000 balloons filled with trash," and pointed out, "The special prosecutor's unreasonable investigation and indictment, calling this an act of treason, is precisely an act that severely undermines national security."

Furthermore, it was revealed that "North Korea carried out approximately 7,000 trash balloon attacks against the Republic of Korea on 33 occasions from May to November 2024," and it was stated that "Not only has direct damage to the lives and property of our citizens continued to occur due to North Korea's trash balloon attacks, but serious concerns have also been raised about terrorism and large-scale casualties at key national facilities such as the National Assembly, airports, the Presidential Office, and foreign embassies." 

Moreover, North Korea was equipped with the ability to attach GPS devices to the trash balloons, allowing them to detonate the balloons and drop their contents at desired locations and times. 

The defense team conveyed that the military carried out drone operations to respond to this new type of provocation, and that disseminating leaflets to North Korea via drones was the lowest level of response our military could undertake.

The defense team also criticized, "The special prosecutor, under the pretext of investigation, raided the Drone Command, a core force in the three-axis system to protect our citizens, and the MCRC (Master Control and Reporting Center) and Air Force Operations Command within Osan Air Base," and stated, "The investigation into the Drone Command caused serious confusion regarding the military's command structure and its response to North Korean provocations." 

In addition, they criticized the government's dismantling of the Drone Command and the execution of compulsory investigations at Osan Air Base, stating that this went beyond concerns about the ROK-US alliance and caused significant confusion in the reliability of the ROK-US combined surveillance and cooperation system.

The defense team expressed concern that the special prosecutor's investigation was undermining not only the military's command structure but also the very essence of military discipline, which is hierarchical obedience, and stated, "If, when an enemy threat arises, the military hesitates to carry out its inherent duties, fearing legal repercussions even when acting under a superior's order, before taking immediate action, it would render deterrence against war or enemy provocations impossible, posing a serious security risk."

President Yoon's defense team also asserted regarding the special prosecutor, "They repeatedly cited the statements of North Korea's Kim Yo-jong and the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the investigation and prosecution process, effectively using them as a basis for judgment," and emphatically stated, "It is absolutely unacceptable for a South Korean investigative agency to evaluate our military's operations based on the propaganda and agitation logic of North Korea, an anti-state organization, both from the perspective of national security and the maintenance of a liberal democratic system." 

They stated that criminalizing the legitimate military response of the Republic of Korea's military based on North Korea's claims endangers the very existence of the nation, making it impossible not to question "whether the special prosecutor is truly an investigative agency of the Republic of Korea that protects national interests and the system."

Despite this, President Yoon's defense team criticized the court's conviction of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of treason, stating, "The court accepted the special prosecutor's assertion, which dragged a non-existent treason framework into the realm of criminal law."

Furthermore, they declared that the investigation and indictment in this case, which made military responses and security activities aimed at defending the Republic of Korea subject to criminal punishment and evaluated them as acts of treason, were unreasonable from the outset.

The defense team conveyed, "Defining military responses to defend the nation as a crime and judging our military's operations in response to North Korea's continuous provocations as acts of treason is a disregard for the Republic of Korea's security reality and its fundamental duty to uphold the liberal democratic system."

Finally, they warned, "The special prosecutor's indictment and today's trial will be recorded as an incident that left a significant wound on the Republic of Korea's security capabilities and its liberal democratic fundamental order, and its responsibility and evaluation will ultimately be determined before the stern judgment of history."

Reporter Im Yo-hee