A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on Friday, June 12, over charges linked to military drones sent over Pyongyang to create a pretext for his failed December 2024 martial law declaration, according to Yonhap news agency.
Guilty Verdict
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, stating that he had conspired in the October 2024 drone incursion from the outset.
Yoon denied any wrongdoing. His legal team argued that he neither ordered nor later approved the operation, claiming it was unrelated to martial law and instead a response to months of North Korean launches of balloons filled with rubbish across the border.
Prosecution and Previous Rulings
Prosecutors had sought a 30-year prison term for Yoon in April. This ruling adds to a series of judgments against the ousted conservative leader, once South Korea’s top prosecutor, whose martial law order plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy into its deepest political turmoil in decades.
In February, a South Korean court sentenced Yoon to life in prison after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection linked to the martial law attempt. He was removed from office last year after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, triggering a snap election won by liberal President Lee Jae Myung.
Yoon, who is already in custody, can appeal Friday’s lower court ruling.
