ROK's special counsel seeks 30-year sentence for ex-president Yoon over general treason

SEOUL - South Korea's special counsel on Friday sought a 30-year sentence for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over general treason linked to the infiltration of drone into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The team of Cho Eun-suk, an independent counsel who led investigations into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, demanded the prison term on charges of general treason that refers to the crime of harming South Korea's military interests or benefiting the enemy.

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.

The special prosecutor team believed that the drone operation heightened military tensions between the two Koreas and compromised South Korea's military interests as the drone crash led to the leak of classified information about military operations and assets.

The team requested a 25-year prison sentence for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

Yoon and Kim were indicted on charges of general treason in November 2025 along with a former counterintelligence commander.

The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.

He was indicted under detention in January 2025 as a suspected ringleader of the insurrection, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.