Ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Gets 30-Year Sentence Over 2024 Drone Flights Into North Korea
Gladson Afriyie
Journalist
Advertisement
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after a court found him guilty of abuse of power and aiding the enemy over a 2024 drone operation into North Korea.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Yoon conspired from the start in the October 2024 incursion, when drones were flown over Pyongyang. Prosecutors argued the flights were meant to “fabricate wartime conditions” to justify Yoon’s failed martial law declaration later that year. They said the operation endangered national security and led to leaks of classified military details after some of the drones crashed.
Yoon has denied the charges. His legal team maintained he neither ordered nor approved the mission, claiming it was a response to months of North Korean trash-balloon launches across the border and was unrelated to martial law.
Tensions spiked in October 2024 when North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital three times to drop propaganda leaflets. Then-Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun issued a vague denial before the defence ministry said it could neither confirm nor deny the claims. No military clashes followed.
A spokesperson for the Seoul Central District Court told AFP that Yoon was “given 30 years in jail” for the charges. Yonhap news agency also reported the sentence. Yoon, already in custody, can appeal the lower court’s ruling.
The verdict adds to Yoon’s legal troubles. In February, he received a life sentence for leading an insurrection tied to his martial law declaration, which prosecutors said was an attempt to “paralyse” the National Assembly. Yoon appealed that conviction, insisting the martial law move was “solely for the sake of the nation”.
Yoon was impeached and removed from office last year after the Constitutional Court upheld the decision. A snap election followed, won by liberal President Lee Jae Myung.
Drone activity remains a sensitive issue between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war. Earlier this year, President Lee expressed regret after a probe found South Korean officials had sent drones into the North in January. Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, called Lee’s remarks “wise behaviour,” but hopes for improved ties faded when Pyongyang again labeled the South its “most hostile” enemy.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index hit a record high, jumping 199.80 points, or 2.55%, to close at 8,047.51 on May 26, 2026, as employees at Hana Bank celebrated the milestone in Seoul.
