This file composite photo shows former President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. (Constitutional Court of Korea) A Seoul court on Friday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison after finding him guilty of ordering drone infiltrations into North Korea in an attempt to heighten cross-border tensions and create a basis for his martial law declaration in December 2024.The Seoul Central District Court delivered the verdict, matching special counsel Cho Eun-suk's sentencing recommendation for the jailed former president on charges that included benefiting the enemy and committing abuse of power.The court recognized that Yoon had ordered the operation in October 2024 to provoke Pyongyang and use the anticipated increase in cross-border tensions as a pretext for his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.It also sentenced former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to 30 years in prison for his role in such operations, higher than the 25 years sought by the special counsel.The court also sentenced Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the operation, while Kim Yong-dae, former chief of the Drone Operations Command, received a three-year sentence suspended for five years."With the purpose of creating an environment for emergency martial law, the defendants used the guise of a military operation to induce North Korea's provocation," the court said.It marked the latest conviction for Yoon, who is currently in custody and faces multiple trials linked to his botched martial law bid.In February, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his martial law declaration. He has appealed that ruling. (Yonhap)