The court extends pre-trial detention warrant Yoon Suk-Yoel over “Drone False Flag Attack”

A court on the 2nd issued an additional arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is accused of aiding the enemy, including allegations that he ordered the infiltration of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) into Pyongyang, citing concerns over possible destruction of evidence. Yoon’s legal team criticized the court, calling the warrant a “vending-machine warrant.”

According to the Insurrection Special Prosecutor’s Office (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok), the 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeong-yeop) issued the arrest warrant for Yoon, who was additionally indicted on charges including aiding the enemy and abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights, on the grounds of a “risk of evidence destruction.”

Yoon’s detention was originally set to expire on the 18th of this month, but the issuance of the new warrant allows his detention to be extended by up to six months.

The special prosecutor’s office explained, “An interrogation was conducted on December 23 following the special prosecutor’s request for additional detention,” adding, “The court’s decision on that request was delivered today.”

Yoon’s legal team strongly objected. His lawyers stated, “This was a predetermined conclusion—a ‘vending-machine warrant’ wrapped in the name of justice,” arguing that “this detention decision, issued when the substance of the alleged crimes is empty, resembles a formal rubber-stamp approval rather than a legal judgment.” They added, “If the crime itself is not specified, the evidence cannot be specified either, and therefore the claim of a ‘risk of evidence destruction’ collapses at its logical starting point.” They further argued that “with a public trial scheduled and all movements and responsibilities of a former president fully exposed, assuming a risk of flight is a denial of reality.”

Previously, during the detention hearing, the special prosecutor reportedly argued that “given the covert nature of the abnormal military operation carried out in secrecy, there is a substantial risk of evidence tampering, including the possibility of coordinating testimony,” and that “there has been no change in circumstances since Yoon was detained in a separate case for evidence destruction.” The prosecution added that “his tendency in court to shift responsibility onto subordinates only heightens the necessity of detention.”

Yoon’s legal team reportedly countered that “with multiple trials ongoing, remaining in custody would deprive him of sufficient time to meet with his lawyers and receive adequate legal assistance.”

During the hearing, Yoon also reportedly mentioned a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming that “President Trump first brought up the issue of trash balloons, and I explained that South Korea’s policy stance is one of strategic patience. The president’s primary duty is to prevent war, so charging me with aiding the enemy is absurd.”

Yoon is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung to infiltrate drones into Pyongyang in order to provoke a North Korean attack and thereby fabricate justification for declaring martial law.