Yoon Faces New Indictment as Special Counsel Investigations Continue
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol faces new criminal charges on July 19 as part of a widening investigation into his declaration of martial law in December 2024. The additional indictment includes allegations of abuse of power, interfering with arrest warrants, and ordering the destruction of official documents. Yoon has denied all wrongdoing and remains on trial for insurrection, a charge punishable by life imprisonment or death.
Yoon was arrested for the second time on July 9 after special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk charged him with obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he ordered his bodyguards to block investigators attempting to arrest him under a court-issued warrant at the presidential residence in January. Though Yoon surrendered weeks later, the court deemed his resistance grounds for concern over evidence tampering and approved the new arrest warrant.
On July 16, Yoon filed a petition claiming his arrest was illegal and unjust. During the court hearing two days later, he cited worsening health and sought release. The Seoul Central District Court ultimately dismissed the petition, citing the risk that he could destroy evidence or pressure witnesses, and ordered him to remain in custody at the Seoul Detention Center.
Following President Lee Jae Myung’s election on June 3, his Democratic Party passed legislation authorizing the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate former President Yoon’s December 2024 martial law declaration. Yoon is accused of bypassing key cabinet members, ignoring objections during an emergency meeting, and fabricating documents by collecting signatures after the fact to legitimize the declaration.
Prosecutors are also examining whether Yoon sought to provoke a military crisis with North Korea in order to justify martial law. Two months before the declaration, Pyongyang accused Seoul of sending drones to drop propaganda leaflets over its capital. The special counsel is now probing whether Yoon’s government deliberately escalated the incident to create grounds for emergency rule. On July 20, prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for Kim Yong-dae, head of the military drone unit, citing abuse of power and document falsification. Kim was arrested without a warrant on July 18 and denies the charges. The Seoul Central District Court denied the request for an arrest warrant on July 21, citing Kim’s cooperation with the investigation.
In a significant turn, police investigators have begun analyzing surveillance footage from a previously off-limits presidential safe house in central Seoul, believed to have been used as a command center for issuing martial law directives. The footage, voluntarily submitted by the Presidential Security Service after a leadership shakeup, is expected to confirm whether Yoon met with senior police officials on the night of December 3 to instruct them to detain lawmakers and block access to the National Assembly, actions central to the sedition case. Other senior officials, including the former interior and justice ministers, were also seen entering the facility for what was later described as a “casual dinner,” raising further questions about the coordination and legal planning behind Yoon’s actions.
Meanwhile, the special counsel’s probe into former First Lady Kim Keon Hee intensified with raids on Unification Church sites on July 18, amid allegations that a senior church official gifted luxury items to her close associate, shaman Jeon Seong-bae, in exchange for government favors and access to state events. Investigators are also examining whether Kim influenced political appointments and the church’s role in the scheme. The investigation has since expanded to include Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, a former floor leader of the ruling party, who is suspected of serving as a conduit between Kim and the church and of attempting to interfere with earlier police probes into the group’s alleged criminal activity.
In addition to the martial law and corruption probes, President Lee’s party also passed legislation to authorize a third special prosecutor to investigate accusations that Yoon covered up an internal investigation into the death of a South Korean marine.
Yoon is expected to remain in custody for up to 20 days as prosecutors consider whether to pursue further indictments, including a charge of inducing foreign aggression. With new evidence emerging and legal pressure mounting, the investigation appears far from over, and may yet ensnare more figures from the former president’s inner circle.
This article was written for The Sejong Society of Washington, D.C. and published on July 23, 2025, in the Sejong Society’s newsletter, Sejong Digest 2.0. You can subscribe to the newsletter here: https://thesejongsociety.org/