S. Korea's ex-president Yoon sentenced to 30 years in prison over general treason

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.

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.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which is heavier than the 25-year jail term sought by the special counsel, while Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Yoon, Kim and Yeo were indicted on general treason charges in November 2025.

Yoon was sentenced to life in prison in February for insurrection stemming from his martial law declaration.

The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.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