A court in South Korea has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison over claims linked to a military drone operation directed toward Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
The ruling came from the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, where judges said he was guilty of abuse of power and assisting an enemy in connection with a drone mission carried out in October 2024.
The court on Friday said he was involved from the start in the plan to send drones into North Korean airspace, which prosecutors linked to efforts tied to a failed plan to justify a martial law declaration in December 2024.
Yoon has denied any wrongdoing.
His legal team said he never ordered or approved the drone operation and insisted the activity was not related to martial law.
They also argued it was a response to earlier actions from North Korea, including balloon launches carrying waste across the border.
Prosecutors had pushed for a 30-year sentence during the case earlier in April
. The decision adds to other legal troubles facing the former leader, who was once the country’s top prosecutor before entering politics.
He was removed from office after the Constitutional Court backed his impeachment, which led to a snap election that brought liberal leader Lee Jae Myung into office.
In an earlier case, he had already received a life sentence linked to accusations of insurrection tied to the martial law attempt, according to reports.
Yoon is currently in custody and is expected to challenge the latest ruling through an appeal.
