Ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to 30 years for drone plot

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his involvement in a drone operation over North Korea in 2024. Prosecutors argued that the ex-leader orchestrated these military drone flights into Pyongyang to escalate tensions, thereby creating a justification for his controversial declaration of martial law later that year. Yoon's defense, however, maintained that the drone activity was a legitimate response to North Korean provocations and unrelated to his martial law attempt.

This latest conviction comes after Yoon Suk Yeol, who served as president from 2022 until his impeachment and removal from office in 2025, was already serving a life sentence. He had been previously found guilty of insurrection linked to his short-lived martial law decree in December 2024. Yoon is currently in detention and has the option to appeal the recent ruling.