Ex-South Korean President Yoon Gets 30-Year Jail Term For Sending Drones Into North Korea

The verdict marks the latest legal blow for South Korea's impeached former leader Yoon Suk Yeol, who has already been sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol received 30-year prison sentence.

Source : DW

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Conviction for sending drones into North Korea, abusing power.
• Sentence follows a prior life conviction for martial law.
• Ex-defense minister Kim Yong Hyun also received 30 years.

Reported by: Dharvi Vaid with AFP, AP and Reuters | Edited by: Darko Janjevic

A South Korean court on Friday sentenced the country's former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison for sending drones into North Korea.

The prosecutors had alleged that Yoon's move was a deliberate bid to stoke tensions with Pyongyang and justify his failed attempt to declare martial law in December 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered the verdict, finding Yoon guilty ​of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Yoon has denied wrongdoing.

Ex-defense minister Kim Yong Hyun was also sentenced to 30 years on Friday, alongside his former boss.

South Korea's Yoon mired in legal troubles

Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law led to his impeachment.

He was indicted over a slew of charges related to it and was formally removed from office in April 2025.

In February, Yoon was handed a life sentence for leading an insurrection and undermining the constitution.

The judges in the case ruled that his decision to declare martial law was "intended” to paralyze the National Assembly.

What is the North Korea drone incident?

North Korea claimed that South Korea flew drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets thrice in October 2024.

South's defense minister at the time, Kim, issued a vague denial. Shortly after, the Defense Ministry in Seoul said it could neither confirm or deny Pyongyang's allegations.

Yoon's lawyers argued that the ousted leader had not ordered or later approved the drone incursion, which they claimed was unrelated to martial law.

The lawyers said that the operation was in response to North Korea sending balloons filled with rubbish across the border that year and was "a legitimate act of self-defense".

Yoon, who is already in custody, has the provision of appealing Friday's lower court sentence.

Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.