Special Prosecutor Seeks 30 Years for Yoon Suk-yeol and 25 Years for Kim Yonghyun in 'Pyongyang Drone' Case

Yonhap News Agency

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Former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was indicted on charges of deploying drones over Pyongyang in an attempt to create a state of war on the Korean Peninsula to justify the 12·3 Martial Law, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

On April 24, at the sentencing hearing held by the 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jeong-yeop), Special Prosecutor for Insurrection Cho Eun-seok's team requested a 30-year prison sentence for former President Yoon, who was indicted on charges of acts benefiting the enemy and abuse of authority. For former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was prosecuted alongside Yoon, a 25-year prison sentence was requested.

Explaining the reasons for the sentencing requests, the special prosecutor stated, “The defendants attempted to artificially create a wartime situation on the Korean Peninsula with the aim of establishing the conditions for declaring martial law. They caused tangible harm to national security, severely undermined military interests, and triggered national chaos and a breakdown in military discipline.”

For former President Yoon, the prosecution pointed out that he “led the criminal act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” while for former Minister Kim, they noted that he “was deeply involved in the entire process, from planning the martial law to its execution.”

Yoon and others are accused of ordering the Drone Operations Command to carry out a drone deployment over Pyongyang around October 2024, with the purpose of provoking a military response from North Korea and creating a pretext for declaring martial law.

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