Former South Korean President Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison

SadaNews - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday for sending drones to North Korea, an act that prosecutors said was aimed at creating a pretext for declaring martial law in December 2024.

The sending of the drones, which Pyongyang claimed included dropping propaganda leaflets, led to a sharp escalation of military tensions between the two countries in October 2024.

Prosecutors assigned to the case stated last April that Yoon's attempts to "fabricate war conditions" with the drones undermined national security.

A spokesperson from the Seoul Central District Court told Agence France-Presse that Yoon was "sentenced to 30 years" on the charges against him.

This sentence comes after a previous ruling in February which sentenced Yoon to life in prison for leading a rebellion aimed at "paralyzing" the South Korean parliament through the declaration of martial law.

Prosecutors also clarified that this operation escalated tensions with North Korea and resulted in the leak of classified information, including details regarding the military capabilities of the country, following the crash of the drones, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

The prosecution office had demanded a 30-year prison sentence for the ousted former president on the grounds of sending military drones to North Korea.

Yoon has appealed the ruling, insisting that he declared martial law "only in the interest of the nation."

Yoon's legal team denied the drone-related charge, asserting that there was "no prior order or subsequent approval" from him regarding the drone operation upon which the prosecution relied.

The defense lawyers explained that the operation was in response to North Korea’s sending of balloons carrying waste across the border that year and that it was a "legitimate act of self-defense" unrelated to Yoon’s declaration of martial law.

They dismissed the prosecutors' claims, calling them "a speculation-based narrative and pure slander."

The issue of sending drones to Pyongyang remains a point of tension in the relations between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war, having concluded their conflict in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Earlier this year, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed regret after an official investigation revealed that government officials had sent drones to the north in January, an act that initially appeared to be welcomed by Pyongyang before it referred to its southern neighbor as "the most hostile enemy state."

Yoon, currently imprisoned while facing multiple trials, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for a more serious charge of leading a military rebellion, following his failed attempt to impose martial law.

On the night of December 3, 2024, he suddenly announced martial law in a televised speech and sent the military to parliament to silence it.

His coup lasted only six hours, as a sufficient number of lawmakers managed to sneak into the parliament chamber, which was surrounded by soldiers, and pass a resolution against the power grab, forcing him to back down.