UPDATE
Jun 12, 2026 5:34 AM CDT
South Korea's former president, already serving a life sentence for insurrection, has been sentenced to another 30 years for sending drones into North Korea months before he declared martial law in 2024. Prosecutors said that in an attempt to create a state of emergency and justify imposing martial law, Yoon Suk Yeol sent the drones to provoke retaliation from North Korea, the BBC reports. The Seoul District Court found Yoon and other defendants guilty of treason and abuse of power on Friday. Prosecutors had sought a 25-year sentence for Kim Yong Hyun, Yoon's former defense minister, but he was sentenced to 30 years as well, the AP reports.
Apr 24, 2026 10:04 AM CDT
South Korea's ousted former president now knows what sentence prosecutors want to see on his record: three decades behind bars, reports Reuters. A Seoul court on Friday heard prosecutors request a 30-year prison term for Yoon Suk Yeol over allegations he ordered a drone mission over Pyongyang to help justify his brief 2024 declaration of martial law, Yonhap reports. Prosecutors said that Yoon sent the drones over the border two months before he declared martial law as part of an effort to oust his political rivals, stoke tensions with North Korea, and "monopolize and extend his power," reports the Washington Post. Yoon's former defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, is facing up to 25 years behind bars for his role.
The case is one of eight Yoon is fighting after being removed from office last year in a political jolt to one of Asia's most established democracies. Prosecutors say the drone operation ratcheted up tensions with North Korea and, after one drone went down, risked exposing sensitive information about South Korea's military capabilities. Yoon, indicted in November on charges that include "benefiting the enemy," has denied any wrongdoing, with his lawyers arguing he did nothing that could have sparked an armed conflict with the North.
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