The special counsel team assigned to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration has concluded its probe and indicted 24 people, including Yoon, in connection with the case.

Announcing the final results of the 180-day probe on Monday, special counsel Cho Eun-seok concluded that Yoon had declared martial law on December 3 last year to monopolize and maintain power.

The team determined that preparations for the declaration began before October 2023, based on notes by a former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, Noh Sang-won, and testimony from related figures.

Cho also believes that Yoon deployed drones to North Korea last year to provoke an armed response from Pyongyang with the intent of justifying his martial law declaration.

Of those charged, former President Yoon, former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, former interior minister Lee Sang-min and former National Intelligence Service chief Cho Tae-yong are in custody.

The team said it had handled 215 of 249 cases related to Yoon’s martial law declaration and drone deployment that were initially transferred or identified, and that the remaining files had been handed off to the National Office of Investigation.