Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team said he never ordered the alleged drone flights over Pyongyang, saying prosecutors have not backed their claims with evidence.
South Korean prosecutors are seeking a 30-year prison sentence for ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is accused of trying to escalate tensions with North Korea by allegedly flying drones over Pyongyang in a bid to create justification for later imposing martial law.
Prosecutors made the request on April 24 at the closing of his trial in Seoul Central District Court, where Yoon is facing charges of benefiting an enemy and abuse of power.
The charges of benefiting an adversary can apply without direct collusion with an enemy if South Korea’s military interests are harmed or if an enemy is aided.
A team of investigators led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk said the conservative former president and top defense officials were responsible for alleged drone infiltrations into North Korea two months before attempting to impose martial law.
Pyongyang accused Seoul of using drones to drop propaganda leaflets over the capital three times in October 2024.
Yoon’s legal team said in a statement to reporters that he never ordered the alleged drone flights over Pyongyang, saying prosecutors have not backed their claims with evidence.
Seoul Central District Court is expected to make a ruling on the case at a later date.
Yoon attempted to impose martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, but backed down after six hours, following parliament’s vote to overturn the decree. He said he imposed the measures in order to protect the South Korean constitution because the opposition, which controlled the parliament, was sympathetic to communists and North Korea.
He had previously told the court that it was within his presidential powers to call for a state of emergency and that doing so could not constitute an insurrection.
Yoon faces a total of eight trials related to the martial law decree. He received his first conviction on Jan. 16 for charges such as mobilizing the presidential security service to prevent authorities from detaining him, which resulted in a five-year prison sentence.
On Feb. 19, Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating an insurrection, and he was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, though no one has been executed in South Korea since 1997, following the introduction of a moratorium on capital punishment in 1998.
The former president’s lawyers said in their appeal of the conviction that they aim to address the “errors in fact-finding and misinterpretations of the law” contained in the ruling.
