"I Sent the Drone to North Korea"... Confession by a Man in His 30s Who Worked at the Office of the President of South Korea Under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration Sparks Controversy

[Financial News] A graduate student in his 30s, who is known to have worked on a contract basis at the Office of the President of South Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, has confessed to sending a drone to North Korea on three occasions. Acting on instructions from President Lee Jae Myung, the Joint Military-Police Investigation Task Force has been going all out to identify suspects nationwide. However, before he was apprehended by the military and police, the male suspect, referred to as Mr. A, calmly gave an interview to the media on the 16th. Appearing on Channel A, Mr. A said he had personally requested the interview.
It remains unclear whether the military and police, who had secured Mr. A’s whereabouts in advance and were in the midst of an investigation, allowed him to give the interview.
Mr. A said he decided to speak to the media after seeing that the military and police had summoned his acquaintance, Mr. B—who had built the drone for him—as a suspect for questioning.
Given the circumstances, it appears highly likely that Mr. B, the drone’s builder, provided personal information about Mr. A during questioning by the military and police. This suggests that the authorities had already identified Mr. A as a suspect and that a report may have been submitted to Cheong Wa Dae, also known as the Blue House.
President Lee, just half a day before Mr. A’s interview took place, unusually shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account a link to an article stating that the opposition party had criticized his order for a joint military-police investigation into the drone incident, thereby urging the military and police to press ahead with the probe.
However, before being questioned by the military and police, Mr. A first went to a media outlet for an interview, prompting questions about the background to this sequence of events.
Mr. A stated, "I did not film our military or anything like that. I believed it was acceptable to launch the drone because I had a specific purpose," adding that he plans to voluntarily appear before the police for questioning in the near future. A police official said only, "We are not in a position to confirm anything about the content of the interview at this time," noting that an investigation is underway.
Before turning himself in to the military and police, Mr. A presented what he claimed was evidence, saying that the external appearance, camouflage colors, and patterns of the drone revealed by North Korea matched the modifications and paintwork he had applied. He also released footage recorded by the drone. Mr. A asserted, "I flew the drone to measure radiation and heavy metal contamination levels at the Pyongsan Uranium Concentrate Plant located in Pyongsan County, North Korea," claiming that he launched the drone three times starting in September last year.
Mr. A argued that North Korea’s claim that the drone took off from Paju, Gyeonggi Province and northern Ganghwa Island was untrue, insisting that he had launched it early on weekend mornings from an unpopulated coastal area near Ganghwa Island and set its route to pass over Pyongsan County. He said he programmed it to return after four hours. In a statement on the 10th, North Korea claimed it had shot down drones that South Korea had sent into its territory in September last year and on the 4th of this month. In response, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) indicated that the aircraft in question were not military assets, suggesting they were likely civilian drones, and President Lee ordered a joint military-police investigation.
Around the time of Mr. A’s interview, the Ministry of Unification (MOU) also moved faster than the military and police to issue an official statement. The MOU criticized what it called "an irresponsible attitude that shows no remorse regarding the 'Pyongyang drone incursion' case of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which is currently under judicial review on charges of the crime of aiding the enemy under ordinary criminal law," and added, "Through a swift joint military-police investigation, we will promptly get to the bottom of the latest drone incident, dispel public anxiety and suspicion, and, based on the findings, ensure that the relevant authorities take corresponding follow-up measures without delay." Attention is also focused on whether President Lee will issue an apology or statement of regret to North Korea.
Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea, has repeatedly called for an official apology from the South Korean government. Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young sparked controversy by making remarks that hinted at the possibility of a direct apology or statement of regret from President Lee.
rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter