A Seoul court has sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison after convicting him in a case related to alleged drone infiltrations into North Korea. | Photo Credit: KIM HONG-JI

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison after finding him guilty of ordering drone infiltrations into North Korea in an alleged attempt to escalate inter-Korean tensions and justify the declaration of martial law in December 2024, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to the Yonhap News Agency, in the ruling delivered by the Seoul Central District Court, Yoon was convicted on charges of benefiting the enemy and abuse of power. The sentence was in line with the punishment sought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk.

The court held that Yoon had directed the drone operation in October 2024 with the intention of provoking North Korea and using the resulting tensions as a basis for imposing martial law on December 3, 2024.

Yoon’s legal team filed an appeal against the verdict within hours of the ruling.

Former defence minister also receives 30-year sentence

The court also handed former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in the operation, exceeding the 25-year sentence requested by the special counsel, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Former South Korean Defence Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Kim Yong-dae, the former head of the Drone Operations Command, received a three-year prison term suspended for five years.

Court says drone operation aimed to create conditions for martial law

Explaining its decision, the court said, “In order to create conditions for martial law, the defendants decided to use the military tactic of psychological warfare to incite North Korea and induce a provocation and use that to prompt an armed provocation, such as a local conflict, or create a national security crisis situation resulting from heightened military tension,” as quoted by Yonhap News Agency.

The court further observed that the actions amounted to “betraying” the public’s trust that the president and defence minister would employ military force only for lawful purposes, adding that the operation appeared to have been driven by personal motivations.

Defence cites response to North Korean balloon launches

Yoon’s defence team had argued that the drone deployment constituted a legitimate military response to North Korea’s launch of trash-carrying balloons into South Korea in 2024.

However, the court ruled that the operation had compromised South Korea’s national security interests by exposing its military capabilities to Pyongyang and inadvertently enhancing North Korea’s military preparedness, Yonhap News Agency reported.

In October 2024, North Korea accused Seoul of conducting drone incursions and dropping propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang.

Then-Defence Minister Kim initially denied the allegations, while South Korea’s Defence Ministry later stated that it could neither confirm nor deny the accusations.

Latest conviction linked to failed martial law attempt

Friday’s ruling marks the latest conviction against Yoon, who remains in custody and is facing multiple legal proceedings linked to his failed martial law attempt.

Earlier this year, in February, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his declaration of martial law. He has appealed that conviction as well.

Published on June 12, 2026