South Korea’s Yoon, Kim sentenced for sending drones into North Korea as a martial law pretext | CBC News

South Korea’s ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol and his former defence minister have been sentenced to 30 years in jail Friday in a case alleging Yoon ordered drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024 to intensify tensions with North Korea and justify declaring martial law at residence.

The Seoul Central District Courtroom discovered Yoon and his ex-defence minister, Kim Yong Hyun, responsible of aiding an adversary and abusing their energy, saying they sought to impress North Korea into launching armed assaults or different critical retaliation in opposition to South Korea to fabricate a nationwide emergency. It mentioned the strikes harmed South Korea’s army pursuits by exposing its capabilities, undermining its skill to conduct future operations and prompting North Korea to strengthen its defence posture.

The identical court docket earlier sentenced Yoon to life in jail for a insurrection conviction over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024.

North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets thrice in October 2024. Kim, who was South Korea’s defence minister on the time, issued a imprecise denial earlier than the Defence Ministry mentioned it might neither verify nor deny the allegations. Tensions rose sharply however didn’t result in any army clashes.

WATCH | Yoon was sentenced earlier this 12 months on separate fees:

South Korea’s former president sentenced to life in jail | About That

Andrew Chang explains why Yoon Suk Yeol, former president of South Korea, was sentenced to life in jail after being discovered responsible of main an rebel along with his 2024 declaration of martial law.

Yoon’s legal professionals appealed Friday’s ruling and criticized it, saying the drone flights have been a response to North Korea flying hundreds of trash-carrying balloons into the South earlier in 2024. They argued that a responsible verdict would undermine South Korea’s safety pursuits.

Investigators led by particular prosecutor Cho Eun-suk had sought a 30-year jail time period for Yoon, accusing him of making an attempt to create a warlike scenario between the Koreas whereas plotting an authoritarian push to take away his political opponents and “monopolize” energy. That they had sought a 25-year jail time period for Kim, a key confidant of Yoon who helped plan and mobilize forces for Yoon’s martial law declaration.

Yoon proceeded with the declaration late within the night time of Dec. 3, 2024, delivering a televised handle by which he accused liberal lawmakers of being North Korea-sympathizing “anti-state” forces. He cited a vary of grievances, however notably the opposition’s impeachments of senior officers and cuts to his authorities’s funds invoice.

Martial law lasted about six hours till lawmakers broke by a blockade of troopers and police on the Nationwide Meeting and voted to overturn it, forcing Yoon’s Cupboard to elevate the measure.

Yoon was shortly impeached, suspended from workplace, and formally eliminated by the Constitutional Courtroom. He was arrested in July 2025 and several other legal trials are ongoing.

The decision in essentially the most critical case, of insurrection, has been appealed each by Yoon and prosecutors, who had sought a loss of life sentence.