Court rules that the former President Yoon began preparing for martial law three months earlier
Yoon Suk-yeol's alleged foreign exchange charges, the court viewed preparations for emergency martial law as beginning in September 2024 Quickly check the background behind its emergence as a variable in the appeals trial over insurrection and the meaning of the ruling
The court determined that preparations for martial law in the foreign exchangerelated case involving former President Yoon Suk Yeol had been underway since around September 2024. This ruling is leading to speculation that it could affect the sentencing in the insurrection case and the appellate court's judgment.
The Seoul Central District Court found former President Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun guilty of charges that they tried to create a pretext for martial law by infiltrating drones into Pyongyang, North Korea, and sentenced each to prison terms. The court held that this operation was intended not as a response to North Korea's trash balloons, but to create an emergency situation.
The panel also cited records from former Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyung's mobile phone memo as evidence, and determined that related discussions had already begun around last September. However, since this was earlier than the firstinstance ruling in the case involving charges of being the ringleader of the insurrection, it is being mentioned as a factor that could influence sentencing decisions in the future appeals trial.