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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Guardian staff and agencies

Former South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol sentenced to 30 years in prison for sending drones over Pyongyang

People watch a news report on the sentencing trial of South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol in February.
People watch a news report on the sentencing trial of South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol in February. Photograph: Soo-hyeon Kim/Reuters

South Korea’s former-president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sending drones into North Korea, a move prosecutors argued was aimed at creating a pretext for his failed martial law declaration in 2024.

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 incursion from the outset, the news agency said. Special prosecutors said back in April that Yoon’s effort to “fabricate wartime conditions” with the drones had undermined state security.

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