Special Counsel Seeks 30-Year Term for Yoon in Drone Incursion Appeal
Prosecutors asked an appeals court to uphold a 30-year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over an alleged operation to send drones into North Korea and create a pretext for martial law.
A special counsel team asked the Seoul High Court on Friday to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison over allegations that he ordered drone incursions into North Korea as part of an effort to provoke a military confrontation and build a justification for martial law.
The request was made during Yoon’s appeals trial. The prosecution alleges that Yoon directed the military’s Drone Operations Command to send drones to Pyongyang in October 2024, hoping North Korea would respond with a provocation. Investigators argue that such a response could then have been used as a pretext for the martial law declaration issued in December of that year.
The special counsel also sought a 30-year sentence for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun on charges including benefiting the enemy and abuse of power. Prosecutors requested a 20-year term for Yeo In-hyung, a former commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and five years for Kim Yong-dae, a former head of the Drone Operations Command.
A lower court convicted Yoon in June and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. The Seoul Central District Court also imposed a 30-year sentence on former Defense Minister Kim. Yeo received a 15-year prison term, while former Drone Operations Command chief Kim was given a suspended three-year sentence. The appeals proceedings will determine whether those judgments and penalties stand.
The special counsel said the defendants misused military command authority and operational control in an attempt to trigger an armed clash with North Korea. Prosecutors characterized the alleged conduct as more serious than insurrection because it involved the use of military assets in circumstances that could have escalated into an inter-Korean conflict.
The case is one of the most consequential legal proceedings arising from the 2024 martial law crisis. It combines questions of presidential authority, civilian control of military operations and national security with allegations that state power was used to manufacture the conditions for emergency rule. Yoon and the other defendants are being judged in the appeals process after the lower court’s convictions, and the sentencing requests are not themselves a final ruling. The high court must independently assess the evidence, the defendants’ arguments and the appropriate penalties before issuing its decision.