A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to an additional 30 years in prison after finding him guilty of orchestrating a drone operation into North Korea in a bid to heighten tensions and justify the declaration of martial law in 2024.
According to the BBC, the ruling, delivered by the Seoul District Court on Friday, adds to the life sentence Yoon is already serving for his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
According to prosecutors, Yoon authorized drones to enter North Korean airspace in October 2024, hoping the move would trigger a response from Pyongyang and create conditions for a national security emergency.
In its judgment, the court stated that the operation was designed to provoke North Korea and increase public fear.
“The defendants used the guise of a military operation to induce provocations from North Korea with the aim of creating a state of emergency,” the court said.
The court further noted that the actions of Yoon and his associates heightened the risk of military confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.
“They provoked North Korea, thereby increasing the risk of military conflict,” the ruling stated, adding that Yoon bore “the greatest responsibility” for the scheme.
Former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun was also sentenced to 30 years in prison, while former Defence Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung received a 15-year jail term. Former Drone Operations Command head Kim Yong-dae was handed a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years.
Yoon’s legal team argued that the drone flights were a legitimate response to what they described as repeated provocations from North Korea, including the deployment of balloons carrying waste materials across the border into South Korea.
Tensions between the two Koreas escalated in 2024 after North Korea accused Seoul of sending drones into Pyongyang to distribute anti-regime leaflets. The North condemned the action as a dangerous provocation that could lead to armed conflict.
The court concluded that Yoon deliberately ordered the drone operation with the expectation that North Korea would retaliate, providing grounds for extraordinary security measures.
In addition to his convictions related to the drone operation and insurrection, Yoon has also been sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power and obstructing efforts to arrest him.
His controversial martial law declaration on December 3, 2024, sparked widespread protests and political turmoil, eventually leading to his impeachment and removal from office. The crisis culminated in a national election won by opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party.
