Yoon Sentenced to 30 Years in First Trial Over 'Pyongyang Drone' Allegations... 'Creating Conditions for Martial Law Declaration'

[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was accused of sending drones to Pyongyang in an effort to create a pretext for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in his first trial.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 36, presided over by Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, sentenced Yoon to 30 years in prison on the 12th on charges including benefiting the enemy. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung, who were tried alongside him, were sentenced to 30 years and 15 years in prison, respectively. Former Drone Operations Command chief Kim Yong-dae received a three-year prison term, suspended for five years.
Earlier, the Special Prosecutor's Office for Insurrection, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, had sought 30 years in prison for Yoon, 25 years for Kim, and 15 years and five years, respectively, for Yeo and Kim.
The court found that they deliberately sent drones into Pyongyang in order to create the conditions for declaring martial law. It said Yoon had spoken in 2023 about emergency powers and emergency measures at a presidential safe house, and that from September 2024 he had needed to create a situation for declaring martial law, including planning the KDIC's role after such a declaration through former KDIC chief Noh Sang-won. The court added that the operation was carried out by Kim even during a period when there were no North Korean trash balloons, and that at the time the trash-balloon threat had clearly weakened. In that context, it was difficult to explain why physical means were needed if the operation was a response to trash balloons. The court concluded that the operation was intended to create conditions for declaring martial law and could not be regarded as a legitimate military operation. For that reason, it also recognized Yoon, Kim, and Yeo as co-principals.
The court also said the operation infringed military interests because it privately used military power that should have been deployed immediately in an emergency.
The charges that Yoon and Kim ordered the military to carry out an unlawful operation were also upheld. The court explained that Yoon and Kim had general command authority over the military, but forcing it to carry out an unlawful operation rather than a legitimate one could not be considered part of their proper official duties. It said they abused their authority by sequentially ordering and implementing the operation, thereby making soldiers do work they were not obligated to perform.
However, evidence related to former commander Noh's notebook was not admitted and was excluded.
The court said, "By carrying out this operation, unnecessary military resources were consumed, the risk to the safety of our people and the military from armed conflict increased, and military secrets were leaked, thereby harming the Republic of Korea's military interests." It added, "The essence of the general-benefit offense in this case is that, for the purpose of creating conditions for declaring martial law, the defendants staged the appearance of a military operation and induced North Korean provocation. The defendants deliberately tried to create a national emergency in order to use the authority to declare martial law, which runs directly counter to the purpose of that authority granted to the president."
The court also rebuked them, saying, "Using soldiers, whose mission is to carry out the duty of safeguarding national security and defending the territory, for private purposes by creating the appearance of a military operation betrayed the public's basic trust that the president and the defense minister would use military power only for legitimate purposes such as national security and territorial defense." It added, "North Korea did not actually carry out a strong provocation, but that was not due to anything the defendants contributed. On the contrary, Kim repeatedly ordered the operation to proceed even though former JCS Chairman Kim Myung-soo and others continued to oppose its execution. Therefore, the fact that North Korea did not launch a strong provocation cannot be treated as a favorable sentencing factor."
Yoon, Kim, Yeo, and others were accused of ordering an operation in around October 2024 to send drones into Pyongyang and provoke North Korea militarily in order to create a pretext for declaring martial law. For Kim, who directed the operation, charges of abuse of authority and instigating damage to military property were applied instead of the general-benefit offense.
theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter