South Korean special prosecutors have requested a 30-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over allegations that he ordered military drones to be flown over Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, in an effort to manufacture a pretext for his failed declaration of martial law in December 2024. The sentencing demand was made before the Seoul Central District Court on Friday, April 24, with a ruling expected at a later date.
The special counsel team, led by prosecutor Cho Eun-suk, argues that the alleged drone operation — conducted in October 2024, two months before the martial law decree — was designed to provoke North Korean retaliation, which could then be used to justify emergency rule. Prosecutors also requested a 25-year sentence for former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun over the same charges, while earlier this month they sought 20 years for the former head of the Defence Counterintelligence Command and five years for the former chief of the Drone Operations Command. Friday's hearing was held behind closed doors due to national security concerns.
The charges against Yoon fall under a provision for "benefiting the enemy," a legal concept under South Korean law that can apply even without direct cooperation with a hostile power, if the country's military interests are harmed or an adversary is aided. Prosecutors say the operation heightened inter-Korean tensions and led to the leak of classified military information after at least one drone crashed in North Korea. Pyongyang had publicly accused Seoul of sending drones into its territory on multiple occasions, releasing images of a downed aircraft.
Yoon, who has been in custody since his impeachment and removal from office, is already facing multiple criminal proceedings. In February, a district court sentenced him to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his martial law declaration — a bid he has described as taken "solely for the sake of the nation," with an appeal pending.
The drone issue has broader diplomatic significance. South Korea's current president, Lee Jae Myung, expressed regret to Pyongyang this month after an investigation found that officials had sent drones into North Korea in January, and he has pledged to halt such provocations. While North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister described Lee's statement as "wise behaviour," hopes for a thaw have since dimmed, with Pyongyang reverting to calling the South its "most hostile" enemy. The Korean peninsula remains technically at war, with no formal peace treaty having been signed since the 1950–53 Korean War.