A Seoul court sentenced South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on Friday, on top of a life sentence he is already serving, after finding him guilty of ordering drone flights over North Korea’s capital Pyongyang to generate a pretext for declaring martial law. The Seoul Central District Court also sentenced former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun to 30 years for his role in the operation.
The court found that Yoon had conspired with senior military officials to authorise drones carrying propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang in October 2024. The operation prompted Pyongyang to issue threats of retaliation and raised military tensions on the Korean Peninsula for several days. Prosecutors argued Yoon deliberately engineered the crisis to justify invoking emergency powers in December 2024.
Yoon, 65, declared martial law on December 3, 2024, in a move that lasted only a few hours before the National Assembly voted to lift it. He was subsequently impeached, arrested, and convicted of insurrection in February 2026, receiving a life sentence. The drone conviction, which involves separate charges of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, adds 30 years to the sentence he is already serving. He can appeal Friday’s ruling.
Friday’s verdict drew crowds both inside and outside the courthouse. Yoon’s supporters, who have maintained his innocence throughout, gathered in protest near the court building. His defence team said he had ordered the drone flights as a legitimate security measure against North Korea, not as a domestic political manoeuvre. Prosecutors rejected that defence as contradicted by the evidence.
The case has dominated South Korean politics for more than a year and has put the country’s civil-military relationship under intense scrutiny. Several senior military officers have been charged alongside Yoon in separate proceedings related to both the drone operation and the martial law declaration.
Yoon’s successor, President Lee Jae-myung, who defeated the conservative candidate in the snap presidential election held after Yoon’s impeachment, declined to comment on Friday’s verdict through a spokesman. The case has drawn attention internationally as one of the most dramatic political and legal collapses of an elected leader in Asia in recent decades. South Korea’s constitutional court had previously confirmed the validity of the National Assembly’s impeachment vote. South Korea’s football team opened the World Cup with a win over Czech Republic this week, providing a rare positive story for the country amid the ongoing legal proceedings. The full judgement is available through the Supreme Court of Korea public records system. The defence team is expected to file a formal appeal within 14 days.
