soulReuters —
A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former President Yun Seok-Yeol to 30 years in prison for charges related to military drones flown over Pyongyang in an attempt to create a pretext for the failed declaration of martial law in December 2024, Yonhap News reported.
According to the news agency, the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, accusing him of colluding with the drone invasion in October 2024 from the beginning.
Mr. Yoon denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said he never ordered or subsequently approved the operation, arguing that it had nothing to do with martial law and was instead a response to North Korea’s months-long series of launching garbage-filled balloons across the border.
Prosecutors had requested a 30-year prison sentence for Yoon in April.
The sentence joins a series of sentences against the ousted conservative leader who was once South Korea’s top prosecutor, whose martial law plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy into its deepest political turmoil in decades.
In February, a South Korean court found Yun guilty of leading a riot related to the imposition of martial law and sentenced him to life in prison.
Last year, after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, he was removed from office and a snap election was held, which liberal President Lee Jae-myung won.
Yun is already in custody but can appeal Friday’s lower court ruling.
