ISTANBUL

South Korean Defense Ministry on Monday suspended a military commander Kim Yong-dae for allegedly sending drones to Pyongyang, Yonhap News reported.

Kim’s suspension follows the allegations that the ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a covert drone incursion into North Korea to provoke a military response to justify his martial law decree last December.

The suspended officer is commander of drone operations.

The development came after Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team announced on Sunday that they have detained the head of the Drone Operations Command and requested a warrant for his formal arrest in connection with allegations related to former Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law, according to the Korea Herald.

Major General Kim Yong-dae was taken into custody without a warrant on Friday, one day after the special counsel team interrogated him regarding charges of aiding the enemy, creating false documents, and abusing power.

Separately, Former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup confirmed receiving a call from former President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 31, 2023, before suspected interference in the military's investigation into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun.

Lee's lawyers said that Yoon expressed concern over the initial probe into Chae's death during the phone call, as part of a recent statement sent to Special Prosecutor Lee Myeong-hyeon's team.

Last week, investigators raided several locations, including the country's Drone Operations Command (DOC), the Ministry of Defense, and the Defense Counterintelligence Command, to obtain evidence related to the case.

The investigators believe that Yoon ordered the military to send the drones to Pyongyang last October.

They have reportedly secured a recording of a military officer suggesting that Yoon directly instructed the drone command to prepare a drone mission across the border into Pyongyang between October and November last year, weeks before he declared martial law.

The DOC was also accused of deliberately modifying a drone to carry anti-North Korea leaflets despite knowing the risk of it crashing to the ground.

In October last year, Pyongyang said it discovered the remains of the drone carrying the leaflets, warning that it would retaliate if Seoul did it again.