Ex-President Yoon Sentenced to 30 Years Over Drones

The case began in October 2024, when North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones over Pyongyang three times to drop propaganda leaflets. Kim first gave a vague denial, and the Defense Ministry later said it could neither confirm nor deny the claims. Tensions rose sharply, but no fighting followed. The special prosecutor, Cho Eun-suk, had asked for 30 years for Yoon and 25 years for Kim. Yoon's lawyers disagreed strongly. They said the drone flights were a fair response to the thousands of trash-carrying balloons that North Korea had floated into the South earlier that year.

The new conviction adds to a dramatic fall for the 65-year-old leader. In December 2024, Yoon shocked the country by declaring martial law on television, calling opposition lawmakers "anti-state" forces. The order collapsed in about six hours after lawmakers pushed past soldiers at the National Assembly and voted to cancel it. Yoon was quickly impeached, removed by the Constitutional Court, and arrested in July 2025. He had already received a life sentence for rebellion, which both he and prosecutors have appealed. Several other trials against him continue.