South Korea court sentences ex-President Yoon to 30-year jail term over drone incursion

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court. The charges stem from his alleged ordering of a military drone incursion over North Korea in October 2024. The court found Yoon guilty of aiding the enemy and abuse of power, asserting his involvement from the outset of the operation.

This latest ruling compounds a series of legal judgments against the former president. Yoon, once South Korea's top prosecutor, was impeached and removed from office last year after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment. A previous court sentenced him to life in prison in February for leading an insurrection linked to a martial law attempt.

Yoon has consistently denied any wrongdoing. His defense lawyers argued that he neither ordered nor approved the drone operation, claiming it was a response to North Korean balloon launches rather than a pretext for martial law. Prosecutors had sought a 30-year sentence for Yoon in April. He remains in custody and is expected to appeal Friday's lower court ruling, as he has appealed previous judgments.

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The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of aiding the enemy and abuse of power, saying he had conspired in the October 2024 drone incursion over Pyongyang from the outset, according to a court statement.