Necva Taştan Sevinç
12 June 2026•Update: 12 June 2026
A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on charges of ordering drone infiltrations into North Korea in a bid to escalate inter-Korean tensions and create a pretext for his martial law declaration in December 2024.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, the court found Yoon guilty of directing the drone operations as part of an effort to heighten security concerns and justify extraordinary measures under martial law.
Prosecutors alleged that Yoon authorized the drone incursions to provoke a response from Pyongyang and strengthen the rationale for declaring martial law amid growing political turmoil at home.
Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment in February for leading an insurrection through his failed martial law bid, which lasted only a few hours before the National Assembly voted to lift it.
He faces a total of eight trials in connection with his martial law attempt, his wife’s alleged corruption and the 2023 death of a marine officer.