Ex-President Yoon Gets 30 Years Over Pyongyang Drones

The case stems from accusations, first raised by North Korea in October 2024, that Seoul had flown drones over Pyongyang three times to scatter propaganda leaflets. Kim initially issued a vague denial, and the Defense Ministry later said it could neither confirm nor deny the claims; tensions escalated sharply but produced no military clashes. The special prosecutor, Cho Eun-suk, had requested a 30-year term for Yoon and 25 years for Kim, portraying the episode as part of an authoritarian bid to remove political opponents and "monopolize" power. Yoon's lawyers countered that the flights were a justified response to thousands of trash-carrying balloons North Korea had floated southward earlier that year, and warned that a guilty verdict would damage national security.

The drone conviction deepens a remarkable downfall for the 65-year-old conservative leader. In December 2024, Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law in a televised address, branding liberal lawmakers North Korea-sympathizing "anti-state" forces. The decree collapsed within roughly six hours after legislators pushed past security cordons at the National Assembly, amid mass public protests, and voted to overturn it. Yoon was swiftly impeached, formally removed by the Constitutional Court, and arrested in July 2025. He had already received a life sentence for rebellion over the martial law attempt — a verdict both he and prosecutors, who had pushed for the death penalty, have appealed. Several criminal trials against him remain ongoing.