A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison on charges related to military drones sent over Pyongyang to help create a pretext for its failed declaration of martial law in December 2024. Yonhap reported.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of abuse of power and aiding the enemy, saying he had conspired in the October 2024 drone raid from the beginning, the news agency said.
Yoon denied any wrongdoing. His lawyers said he did not order or subsequently approve the operation, which they said was unrelated to martial law and rather a response to months of North Korean launchings of garbage-filled balloons across the border.
Prosecutors had requested a 30-year prison sentence for Yoon in April.
The ruling adds to a series of rulings against the ousted conservative leader, once South Korea's top prosecutor, whose martial law plunged Asia's fourth-largest economy into its biggest political turmoil in decades.
In February, a South Korean court sentenced Yoon to life in prison after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection linked to the attempted martial law.
He was removed from office last year after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, triggering a snap election won by liberal President Lee Jae Myung.
Yoon, who is already in custody, can appeal Friday's lower court ruling.
