South Korea’s Yoon sentenced to 30 years over North Korea drone flights
A Seoul court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol over a 2024 drone operation that prosecutors said was tied to his martial law bid.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison over military drone flights into North Korea, according to a Seoul Central District Court spokesperson cited by AFP. The case adds another conviction for the ousted conservative leader, who is already in custody after a separate life sentence tied to his failed 2024 martial law order.
Prosecutors said Yoon used the drone operation to help create conditions that could justify declaring martial law. In April, special prosecutors accused him of trying to “fabricate wartime conditions” and said the flights damaged state security, according to AFP and Reuters.
The court spokesperson told AFP on Friday that Yoon was “given 30 years in jail” on charges linked to the drones. The spokesperson did not provide further details in the account carried by AFP.
Yoon denied wrongdoing, according to AFP and Reuters. His lawyers said he did not order or later approve the drone operation, and argued it had no connection to martial law.
Drone flights raised tensions
The drone flights took place in October 2024 and caused a sharp rise in military tensions between South Korea and North Korea, according to AFP and Reuters. Pyongyang said the drones dropped propaganda leaflets.
Yoon’s legal team said the operation was a response to months of North Korean launches of rubbish-filled balloons across the border, AFP and Reuters reported. The two Koreas remain technically at war, and drone activity has continued to be a sensitive issue between them.
The 30-year sentence was the term sought by special prosecutors, according to AFP and Reuters. Yoon can appeal the lower court ruling.
Another ruling against an ousted president
Yoon, a former top prosecutor, was removed from office after South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment last year, according to AFP and Reuters. His removal triggered a snap election won by liberal President Lee Jae Myung.
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, AFP and Reuters reported. The martial law order threw Asia’s fourth-largest economy into its deepest political crisis in decades, according to their account.
The drone issue has also drawn scrutiny under Lee. Earlier this year, Lee expressed regret after an investigation found government officials had sent drones into nuclear-armed North Korea in January, AFP and Reuters reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister described Lee’s statement as “wise behaviour,” according to AFP and Reuters. Prospects for warmer ties later faded after North Korea returned to describing South Korea as its “most hostile” enemy.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.