A South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison after finding him guilty over a drone operation that prosecutors alleged was intended to provoke North Korea.
Prosecutors argued that Yoon ordered drones to be sent into North Korea in October 2024 in an attempt to trigger a response from Pyongyang and create a justification for his unsuccessful martial law declaration later that year.
Court links drone operation to martial law bid
When Yoon declared martial law on Dec 3, he claimed the move was necessary to protect the country from “anti-state” forces sympathetic to North Korea. However, the order was later withdrawn following widespread public protests after it became clear that domestic political issues had driven the decision.
Yoon was subsequently impeached and is already serving a prison sentence after being convicted of insurrection in connection with the failed martial law attempt.
On Friday, the Seoul District Court also found former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Defence Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung and former Drone Operations Command chief Kim Yong-dae guilty of treason and abuse of power.
Kim Yong-hyun received a 30-year prison sentence, while Yeo In-hyung was sentenced to 15 years. Kim Yong-dae was given a three-year prison term suspended for five years.
Judges cite increased risk of military conflict
In its ruling, the court said the defendants used the appearance of a military operation to provoke North Korea with the intention of creating a state of emergency.
The court further stated that the actions increased the risk of military conflict by provoking North Korea but concluded that Yoon bore the greatest responsibility for the events.
Yoon’s legal team argued that his actions were a legitimate response to North Korea’s use of rubbish balloons, referring to incidents in 2024 when hundreds of balloons carrying what was described as filthy waste and trash crossed into South Korea.
Political fallout follows conviction
The two Koreas have long used propaganda balloons as part of cross-border campaigns dating back to the Korean War, with messages attached to balloons sent across the border.
However, tensions escalated in 2024 after North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones into Pyongyang to distribute propaganda leaflets, describing the alleged operation as a provocation that could lead to war.
According to Friday’s ruling, the judge found that Yoon authorised the drone operation with the expectation that North Korea would retaliate.
Apart from his conviction for insurrection, Yoon was also sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power and obstructing his own arrest.
His martial law attempt and the protests that followed triggered months of political turmoil in South Korea, culminating in an election that delivered a decisive victory to the opposition Democratic Party under Lee Jae-myung.
