Defense ministry to launch investigative unit for martial law probe next week
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a town hall meeting at the Korea University of Technology and Education in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Dec. 5. Yonhap
The defense ministry said Thursday it will launch next week its own special investigative unit to look into allegations surrounding former ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid.
The 40-member team, which will set sail Monday, will be led by the acting chief of the ministry's prosecution office, according to the ministry.
"Based on the outcome of a probe by the ministry's audit office and the special counsel team, it will conduct necessary follow-up investigations," the ministry said.
The move comes as special counsel Cho Eun-suk's investigation team, which has been looking into insurrection and treason charges regarding the martial law imposition on Dec. 3 last year, will see its mandate end Sunday.
The military's drone command faces allegations of sending drones over Pyongyang during Yoon's presidency in an apparent move to provoke the North and use it as a pretext for his imposition of martial law. A military propaganda unit is also suspected of having secretly sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea for a similar purpose.
On Wednesday, the ministry formally dismissed the former head of the Drone Operations Command.