Another trial has begun in Seoul for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who stands accused of benefiting the enemy by allegedly sending a drone to North Korea in October 2024.

At the first hearing on Monday, the bench decided to open the proceedings to the public when the court takes the initial steps of verifying the defendant’s identity, but to continue behind closed doors if there are concerns about the disclosure of national security and military secrets.

A special counsel team believes Yoon sent the drone to Pyongyang in a bid to escalate military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and provoke a response from North Korea to justify his martial law action.

The indictment accuses the former president and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun of benefiting the enemy on the grounds that military secrets must have been leaked to the North after the drone crashed near Pyongyang.

The offense of benefiting the enemy can be established in the absence of any conspiracy with an enemy state, as long as the person’s actions undermine South Korea’s military interests or bestow a military advantage on an enemy state.