Kim Yong-dae, Commander of the Drone Operations Command, Arrest Warrant Dismissed… Where is the Special Prosecutor's Investigation Heading?
With the dismissal of the arrest warrant for Kim Yong-dae, a key figure in the suspected use of unmanned vehicles in Pyongyang, a new phase in the special prosecutor's investigation into the insurrection charges is unfolding.
On the 21st, Judge Nam Se-jin of the Seoul Central District Court ruled after a hearing of Kim's pre-arrest examination, stating, "Considering that detention excessively restricts the defendant's right to defense, it is difficult to acknowledge the grounds and justification for detention," and did not accept the special prosecutor team's warrant request.
The fact that Kim's previously unstable psychological state has improved, after even writing a 'suicide note,' is also reported to have been one of the reasons for the dismissal.
From Discovery of 'Suicide Note' to Emergency Arrest… A Breathless Turn of Events
The special prosecutor's team discovered a 'suicide note' stored on a computer during a search of Kim's residence. Taking this seriously, the special prosecutor's team quickly acted.
After a first summons and investigation on the 17th, the team conducted a second investigation on the 18th, ahead of the original schedule, and arrested Commander Kim emergency that same night.
During his attendance at the special prosecutor, Kim expressed his anxious feelings, stating, "I am so sad thinking that some of our unit members, including myself, might be punished."
The charges against Commander Kim include the creation and use of false official documents and abuse of power.
According to the special prosecutor's team, the core allegation is that he created false documentation to conceal the sending of unmanned vehicles to Pyongyang, North Korea, in October of last year. Additionally, a document titled 'Reconnaissance Drone Company Proficiency Flight Training,' disclosed by Democratic Party lawmaker Bae Seung-chan, stated that the drone company conducted flights with two unmanned vehicles (No. 74 and No. 75) on October 15 of last year.
However, in reality, only Vehicle No. 75 flew, and there are internal testimonies suggesting that there was a directive from above to report that Vehicle No. 74, which did not fly, had "disappeared for unknown reasons during normal flight."
The special prosecutor's team suspects that this vehicle No. 74, which was processed as lost, actually crashed in Pyongyang six days earlier and has raised allegations that they attempted to conceal the fact of sending the unmanned vehicle by fabricating the records of its flight and processing it as lost.
Moreover, there are charges related to the deletion of unmanned vehicle flight log records and the removal of the leaflet container attached to the unmanned vehicle.
Commander Kim generally acknowledges these facts.
However, he maintains that the nature of secret military operations should be taken into account, emphasizing that it was a normal operation unrelated to a state of emergency.
The special prosecutor's team considers Commander Kim as a 'key man' who can shed light on the foreign exchange allegations against former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The special prosecutor's investigation into foreign exchange focuses on suspicions that former President Yoon directly instructed the drone company to send unmanned vehicles to Pyongyang last October, bypassing the Ministry of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in order to build justification for declaring a state of emergency.
Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young explained at a briefing that "the unmanned vehicle aspect is directly linked to national security and interests, so we are exercising extreme caution in the investigation process" and added, "For subjects requiring extreme secrecy, investigations are being conducted within military facilities."
The special prosecutor's team is expected to closely review the reasons for the dismissal of the arrest warrant and determine whether to reapply for the warrant.
Depending on the progress of the investigation, the possibility of former President Yoon facing additional charges related to foreign exchange cannot be ruled out.
The special prosecutor’s team arrested and indicted former President Yoon on the 19th on charges of abuse of power, but did not apply foreign exchange allegations for additional investigation.
Image sources: Kim Yong-dae, Commander of the Drone Operations Command, arrives at the Special Prosecutor’s Office established in the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office to undergo investigation related to allegations of unmanned vehicle infiltration and foreign exchange on the morning of July 17, 2025. / News1; Kim Byung-joo, a supreme member of the Democratic Party, speaks at a supreme committee meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of July 14, 2025, regarding the unmanned vehicle infiltration operation of the Drone Operations Command. / News1; During the '76th Armed Forces Day Media Day' event held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, on September 25, a combined force of manned and unmanned combat units, including anti-aircraft radar suppression unmanned vehicles (harpy), is conducting a demonstration. / News1; Former President Yoon Suk-yeol. / News1.
