Former South Korean president sentenced to 30 years in prison

A court in South Korea today sentenced former President Yun Suk-jeol to 30 years in prison on charges related to his ordering the incursion of military drones over North Korea to create a pretext for his failed declaration of a state of emergency in December 2024, Reuters reported.

The Seoul Central District Court found Jun guilty of aiding the enemy and abuse of power, saying he had participated in a conspiracy from the beginning regarding the drone incursion over Pyongyang in October 2024, the court said.

The ruling follows a series of decisions against the ousted conservative leader, once South Korea's top prosecutor, whose martial law order plunged Asia's fourth-largest economy into its deepest political crisis in decades.

Jun denied any guilt in connection with the drone incursion.

His lawyers said he neither ordered nor subsequently approved the operation, which they argue was not related to the state of emergency but was a response to months of North Korean launches of garbage-filled balloons across the border.

Prosecutors in April sought a 30-year prison sentence for Jun.

In February, a South Korean court sentenced Jun to life in prison after finding him guilty of leading a rebellion related to an attempt to impose martial law.

He was removed from office last year after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, leading to snap elections won by liberal President Lee Jae-myung.

Jun, who is already in custody, can appeal the lower court's ruling on Friday. The former president, who faces a series of trials, has already appealed previous rulings against him.