Shafaqna Pakistan: South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, along with former Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in a case involving allegations that they authorised drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024 to escalate tensions with North Korea and justify the imposition of martial law domestically.
The Seoul Central District Court found both men guilty of aiding an adversary and abusing authority, concluding that they attempted to provoke North Korea into retaliatory action in order to create a national security crisis. The court said the actions compromised South Korea’s military interests by revealing operational capabilities, weakening future strategic effectiveness, and prompting Pyongyang to reinforce its defence posture.
Yoon’s legal team has announced plans to appeal the verdict.
In a separate earlier ruling, the same court had sentenced Yoon to life imprisonment on a rebellion charge related to his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.
North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. Kim, who was South Korea’s defense minister at the time, issued a vague denial before the Defense Ministry said it could neither confirm nor deny the allegations. Tensions rose sharply but did not lead to any military clashes.
Yoon’s lawyers criticized the latest ruling, saying the drone flights were a response to North Korea flying thousands of trash-carrying balloons into the South earlier in 2024. They argued that a guilty verdict would undermine South Korea’s security interests.
Investigators led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk had sought a 30-year prison term for Yoon, accusing him of trying to create a warlike situation between the Koreas while plotting an authoritarian push to remove his political opponents and “monopolize” power. They had sought a 25-year prison term for Kim, a key confidant of Yoon who helped plan and mobilize forces for Yoon’s martial law declaration.
Yoon proceeded with the declaration late in the night of Dec. 3, 2024, delivering a televised address in which he accused liberal lawmakers of being North Korea-sympathizing “anti-state” forces. He cited a range of grievances, but particularly the opposition’s impeachments of senior officials and cuts to his government’s budget bill.
Martial law lasted about six hours until lawmakers broke through a blockade of soldiers and police at the National Assembly and voted to overturn it, forcing Yoon’s Cabinet to lift the measure.
Yoon was quickly impeached, suspended from office, and formally removed by the Constitutional Court. He was arrested in July 2025 and several criminal trials are ongoing.
The verdict in the most serious case, of rebellion, has been appealed both by Yoon and prosecutors, who had sought a death sentence.
Source: Dunya News
