Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol receives 30‑year prison sentence for Pyongyang drone operation

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol to 30 years’ imprisonment on December 12 for a charge of general treason (foreign‑exchange crime) linked to his order of a drone operation targeting Pyongyang. The court ruled that Yoon, together with former Defense Minister Kim Yong‑hyun (30 years) and former Military Counterintelligence Director Yeon In‑hyeong (15 years), sought to provoke North Korea to create a pretext for declaring emergency martial law. A former drone‑operation commander, Kim Yong‑dae, received a three‑year sentence suspended for five years. The judgment held that the operation was illegal and intended to manipulate national security for political ends.

The ruling follows earlier convictions of Yoon for crimes related to the 2024 emergency martial‑law declaration, adding to his cumulative sentences and marking a historic legal outcome for a former head of state in South Korea.