A South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison over allegations related to a military drone operation targeting North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.
The Seoul Central District Court in Seoul found him guilty of abuse of power and assisting an enemy in relation to a drone mission in October 2024, a report said.
The court said on Friday he was involved in the plan to send drones into North Korean airspace from the beginning, which prosecutors said was linked to efforts tied to a failed plan to justify a martial law declaration in December 2024.
Yoon has denied any misdeeds.
His lawyers said he did not direct or consent to the drone operation and insisted the activity was unrelated to martial law.
They also said it was in response to previous actions by North Korea, including balloon launches that sent waste material over the border.
Prosecutors had sought a 30-year sentence during the case earlier this April. The ruling adds to other legal woes for the former leader, who was the country’s top prosecutor before entering politics.
His impeachment was backed by the Constitutional Court, after which he was removed from office and a snap election brought liberal leader Lee Jae Myung to power.
He had already been handed a life sentence in an earlier case over charges of insurrection linked to the attempted coup under martial law, reports said.
Yoon is in detention and is expected to appeal the latest ruling.
