Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison over allegations that he authorised military drone operations into North Korean territory in 2024, a move prosecutors argued was intended to create conditions that could justify the declaration of martial law.
According to court officials, the Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence on Friday after prosecutors accused Yoon of deliberately escalating tensions with North Korea by sending drones across the border. The flights allegedly involved the distribution of propaganda leaflets and contributed to heightened military tensions between the two countries in October 2024.
Special prosecutors argued that the drone missions were part of an effort to manufacture a national security crisis and “fabricate wartime conditions,” actions they said undermined South Korea’s security and democratic institutions. Yoon has consistently denied the allegations.
The latest verdict adds to the legal troubles facing the former conservative leader. Earlier this year, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of leading an insurrection linked to his controversial martial law declaration, a move that triggered South Korea’s most severe political crisis in decades.
Yoon was subsequently removed from office after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment. The decision paved the way for a snap presidential election that was won by Lee Jae Myung.
Lawyers representing Yoon maintained that he neither ordered nor approved the drone operation. They argued that any cross-border drone activity was unrelated to martial law and was instead a response to repeated launches of rubbish-filled balloons sent from North Korea into South Korean territory.
The former president, who remains in custody, is expected to appeal the latest ruling.
Relations between South Korea and North Korea continue to remain strained, with drone incursions emerging as a major source of friction. Although President Lee has signaled interest in reducing tensions, recent statements from Pyongyang indicate that prospects for improved relations remain uncertain, with North Korea continuing to describe the South as its “most hostile” adversary.
