Court finds operation aimed at provoking Pyongyang to build case for martial law Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appears at the Seoul Central District Court for proceedings on charges of obstruction of special official duties and abuse of power on Feb. 26, 2025. (Newsis) Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to 30 years in prison Friday over a covert drone operation targeting Pyongyang.Prosecutors said the operation was intended to provoke North Korea and help create conditions for Yoon to declare martial law, which he eventually did on Dec. 3, 2024.“The defendant conspired in the drone operation from the beginning and is a co-principal offender in the crime of benefiting the enemy,” the court said in its ruling.The Seoul Central District Court also found former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun guilty, saying Yoon and Kim had been involved in planning and carrying out the operation from the outset. The court further held that the drone incursions into Pyongyang harmed South Korea’s military interests and were carried out for private political purposes unrelated to national security or defense.It found Yoon and Kim guilty of abuse of power, accepting the prosecution’s argument that the operation was intended to provoke a North Korean response and create a justification for the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.The case centered on allegations that Yoon, Kim and other military officials ordered multiple drone flights over Pyongyang beginning in October 2024 and distributed anti-North Korea leaflets in an effort to induce a military response from the North. A prison transport vehicle carrying former President Yoon Suk Yeol enters the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on Friday. Yoon was indicted on charges of ordering a drone operation over Pyongyang to create a pretext for the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. (Yonhap) Prosecutors argued that the operation exposed sensitive military capabilities and operational information to North Korea after some drones reportedly crashed near Pyongyang. They said details including drone specifications, onboard equipment and flight routes could have been obtained by North Korean authorities, damaging South Korea’s military interests.The special counsel also alleged that the operation was designed to heighten security tensions on the Korean Peninsula and create political conditions favorable for imposing martial law.Yoon denied the allegations throughout the trial, arguing he neither ordered nor approved the operation and that it was a legitimate military response to North Korean provocations, including the launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border.The ruling marks the first time in South Korean constitutional history that a former president has received a court judgment on charges of general enemy-benefiting activities, a serious offense classified under crimes against the state.Legal observers said the decision also represents the first conviction of a former South Korean president for an offense categorized as an external security crime.