SEOUL -- South Korea's former president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to 30 years in prison for general treason linked to the infiltration of drones into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to local media on Friday.
The Seoul Central District Court handed down the prison sentence to Yoon on charges of general treason, referring to the crime of harming South Korea's military interests or benefiting the enemy.
The court ruled that the drone infiltration compromised South Korea's military interests, saying that the drone operations were conducted for private purposes unrelated to national security or defense.
The team of Cho Eun-suk, an independent counsel who led investigations into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, demanded a 30-year prison term for Yoon.
Yoon was accused of ordering the drone infiltration into Pyongyang around October 2024 with the intent of militarily provoking the DPRK in a bid to create a pretext for his martial law declaration in December of the same year.
