South Korea court sentences ex-President Yoon to 30-year jail term in drone case

A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol ‌to 30 years in prison on Friday over charges linked to military drones sent over Pyongyang to help ‌create a pretext for his failed ⁠December 2024 martial law declaration, ⁠Yonhap reported.

The ⁠Seoul Central District Court found Yoon ‌guilty of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, ⁠saying he ⁠had conspired in the October 2024 drone incursion from the outset, the news agency said.

Yoon denied wrongdoing. His lawyers said he ⁠neither ordered nor later approved ⁠the operation, which they said ‌was unrelated to martial law and instead a response to months of North Korean launches across the border of balloons stuffed ‌with rubbish.

Prosecutors had sought a 30-year prison term for Yoon in April.

The ruling adds to a series of judgements against the ousted conservative leader, once South Korea's top prosecutor, whose martial law order plunged Asia's fourth-largest ​economy into its deepest political turmoil in decades.

In February, a South Korean court ‌sentenced Yoon to life in prison after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection linked to the martial ‌law attempt.

He was removed from office last ⁠year after the ⁠Constitutional Court upheld his ​impeachment, triggering a snap election that ⁠was won by ‌liberal President Lee Jae Myung.

Yoon, ​who is already in custody, can appeal Friday's lower court ruling.

© Thomson Reuters 2026.