Special counsel seeks 30-year prison term for Yoon Suk Yeol over drone operations into N. Korea

The special counsel sought a 30-year prison sentence on Friday for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, on charges that he ordered the Drone Operations Command to send drones into Pyongyang to create a pretext for the 2024 martial law declaration.

The request was made by the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok during the first-instance trial’s closing hearing, held Friday at the Seoul Central District Court. Yoon is charged with benefitting the enemy and abuse of authority.

The special counsel also sought a 25-year prison term for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was indicted and put on trial for the same charges.

"The crime caused actual and substantial harm to national security and seriously undermined the country’s military interests," the special counsel said.

"As commander-in-chief, Yoon Suk Yeol led the crime, while Kim Yong-hyun led the offense alongside Yoon from the planning of martial law to its execution," it added.

Yoon is accused of ordering an operation around October 2024 to send drones into Pyongyang to militarily provoke North Korea and create justification for declaring martial law.

The special counsel team said the operation heightened military tensions between the two Koreas and that military interests were harmed when one of the drones crashed, resulting in the exposure of military secrets related to the drone's operation and military capabilities.

The special counsel team, which had been investigating allegations of provoking a foreign crisis, indicted Yoon, Kim and former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo In-hyung in November.

The charge of benefiting the enemy applies when a person harms South Korea’s military interests or provides military benefit to an enemy state, regardless of whether there was collusion with the enemy.

Former Drone Operations Commander Kim Yong-dae, who actually directed the operation, was charged with abuse of authority and instigating damage to military property.

Earlier in April, the special counsel team sought a 20-year prison sentence for former commander Yeo and a five-year prison sentence for former drone commander Kim.