Seoul court gives Yoon Suk Yeol 30 more years for ordering North Korea drone incursions
South Korea's Seoul Central District Court found the ousted president guilty of treason and abuse of power for authorising three drone flights over Pyongyang in October 2024 to manufacture a security pretext for his December 2024 martial law declaration; the sentence is consecutive to his February 2026 life term for insurrection
Add to a list
No lists yet.
Summary
South Korea's Seoul Central District Court sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on June 12, 2026, for treason and abuse of power. The court found Yoon deliberately ordered three drone flights into North Korean airspace in October 2024, dropping propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, to trigger inter-Korean military tensions and provide a pretext for his December 3, 2024 martial law declaration. Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun received an identical 30-year sentence. Yoon is already serving a life sentence from a February 2026 insurrection conviction. His lawyers said they would appeal.
Why it matters
The second major conviction cements Yoon's status as the first sitting South Korean president twice convicted of national-security crimes in a single presidency. The drone case establishes that his December 2024 martial law had a manufactured pretext, strengthening the legal record against the insurrection charge on appeal.