Former President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to 30 years in prison at his first trial over allegations that he sent drones into Pyongyang to manufacture grounds for declaring the Dec. 3 emergency martial law.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 36 (presiding judge Lee Jung-yeop) on Friday sentenced both Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who were indicted on charges including general benefiting the enemy, to 30 years in prison each. Yeo In-hyung, former commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, who was tried on the same charges, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Kim Yong-dae, former commander of the Drone Operations Command, indicted on charges including incitement to destroy military property and creating false official documents, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years.
"The essence of this operation lay in the attempt by Yoon Suk-yeol, Kim Yong-hyun and others to induce provocations from North Korea by using the military command authority they held," the court said. "Deliberately creating a national emergency in order to manufacture grounds for declaring emergency martial law runs directly counter to the purpose of authority granted to maintain the nation's safety and order according to military necessity."
The court further noted, "Defendant Yoon Suk-yeol approved the operation for his own political interests." It added, "Without Yoon Suk-yeol's approval, Kim Yong-hyun could not have carried out the operation, and Kim Yong-hyun took the lead in planning and executing the operation in this case."
Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with Kim and others to raise military tensions with North Korea by sending drones into Pyongyang around October 2024, with the aim of manufacturing grounds for declaring emergency martial law. Kim Yong-dae, who carried out the actual operation, faced charges including abuse of official authority to obstruct the exercise of rights and incitement to destroy military property.
Because the case involved numerous state secrets, all trial proceedings were held behind closed doors. For the same reason, the court did not permit a live broadcast of Friday's sentencing.
