Ex-South Korean president Yoon gets 30 years for drone ops

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison after finding him guilty of ordering military drone operations into North Korea designed to heighten security tensions and provide justification for the martial law declaration he imposed in December 2024.

Court finds Yoon orchestrated drone infiltrations

The court ruled that Yoon had directed the drone incursions as part of a calculated effort to provoke a response from Pyongyang and strengthen the rationale for declaring emergency military rule, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. Prosecutors said the former president authorized the operations to manufacture a security crisis that would allow him to consolidate power through extraordinary measures amid growing domestic political turmoil.

Life sentence already imposed for failed martial law bid

The 30-year sentence comes after Yoon received life imprisonment in February for leading an insurrection through his December martial law declaration — which lasted only hours before the National Assembly voted to lift it. The failed power grab had plunged the country into constitutional crisis and led to Yoon's removal from office earlier this year.

Multiple trials continue over corruption, marine death

Yoon currently faces a total of eight separate trials connected to his martial law attempt, alleged corruption involving his wife, and the 2023 death of a marine officer during flood rescue operations. The convictions mark a dramatic fall for the conservative leader, who served as president from 2022 until his impeachment and removal earlier this year.