Former President Yoon Sentenced to 30 Years for Orchestrating Drone Incursion to Justify Martial Law

[Anchor]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for ordering the infiltration of drones into Pyongyang. The court ruled that the operation was intended to create a pretext for declaring martial law.

Reporter Shin Yong-il has the story.

[Reporter]

In October 2024, North Korea released photos of a drone that had crashed in Pyongyang, claiming it had been sent by the South.

[Korean Central Television (October 2024): We consider this a grave political and military provocation that warrants retaliation in accordance with our right to self-defense. They are hastening their own destruction.]

At the time, former President Yoon dismissed the claim as a baseless fabrication.

[Yoon Suk Yeol/Former President (November 2024, Press Conference): It is not even worth responding to every single one of their absurd, victim-blaming claims.]

However, the Special Counsel investigating the insurrection charges concluded that there was sufficient evidence of criminal activity and indicted the former president on charges of aiding the enemy and abuse of power. The court handed down a 30-year prison sentence, matching the Special Counsel's recommendation.

Additionally, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was indicted alongside the former president, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while former Counterintelligence Command Chief Yeo In-hyung received a 15-year sentence.

The court stated, "Former President Yoon ordered the drone infiltration operation into Pyongyang with the intent of provoking North Korea militarily to create a justification for declaring emergency martial law."

The court further pointed out that the former president and others "decided to induce a North Korean provocation by stimulating them, aiming to create a situation involving armed conflict or local warfare," adding that "this cannot be viewed as a legitimate military operation, and it infringed upon the military interests of the Republic of Korea by exposing our military capabilities."

The former president's legal team expressed opposition to the verdict and has filed an appeal.

Yoon has become the only former president in constitutional history to be convicted of both insurrection and aiding the enemy.

(Reported by Yang Hyun-chul | Video by Kim Ho-jin | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.