South Korea's former president Yoon Suk-yeol may face an additional 30-year prison sentence for allegedly using military drones to drop leaflets over North Korea.
The former South Korean president, already sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of "rebellion" for his failed declaration of emergency martial law, could now be subjected to new criminal penalties. On the 24th, South Korea’s prosecution charged him with "conducting acts favorable to the enemy," requesting a 30-year prison term. The accusation stems from his alleged order during his presidency to deploy military drones into North Korean airspace to distribute propaganda leaflets, thereby provoking hostility.
On the 24th, former President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared again in court in Seoul. Prosecutors accused him of ordering the launch of military drones into North Korean airspace in October 2024, during his tenure as president, to disseminate propagandistic leaflets. Prosecutors argue these actions were designed to incite hostilities and create a pretext for declaring martial law. They maintain that such efforts to escalate conditions conducive to war have undermined national security, heightened tensions between South Korea and North Korea, and inadvertently exposed classified information about South Korea’s defense industry—since the drones crashed inside North Korea.
In light of this, prosecutors are demanding a 30-year prison sentence under the charge of "conducting acts favorable to the enemy."
This marks the third time since the political crisis triggered by Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed martial law declaration in December 2024 that he has faced trial.
On the evening of December 3, 2024, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly delivered a televised address, citing the "anti-state actions" of "pro-North Korean forces" as justification for imposing nationwide emergency martial law. He dispatched troops to prevent lawmakers from entering the National Assembly to vote on the martial law decree. However, enough legislators managed to break through the blockade, enter the assembly, and vote against the declaration. Subsequently, Yoon announced the lifting of martial law.
This was the first imposition of martial law in South Korea since its democratic transition began four decades ago. Although it lasted only six hours, it sparked a severe constitutional crisis. In April 2025, Yoon was formally impeached by parliament. In February 2026, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of "rebellion." Yoon has appealed this verdict, maintaining that the martial law declaration was made solely in the interest of national security.
During his presidency, Yoon pursued a hardline policy toward North Korea while further strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance and seeking to improve relations with Japan. His successor, Lee Jae-myung, who took office in June 2025, has actively sent signals of reconciliation toward North Korea, aiming to restore dialogue. Just days ago, he expressed regret to North Korea regarding the incident in January when Pyongyang shot down a drone entering South Korean airspace.
However, the efforts by Lee Jae-myung’s administration to ease tensions have not received a positive response from the Pyongyang regime. Recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated that South Korea is an enemy, not a fellow Korean nation. Pyongyang continues frequent test launches of new weapons systems.
Source: rfi
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1863370621106179/
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