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Former South Korean president Yoon sentenced to 30 years over Pyongyang drone flights

newsJun 12, 202628615

A Seoul court on June 12 sentenced former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol to 30 years in prison for ordering drone flights over Pyongyang in 2024. The court found Yoon used military assets to provoke tensions with North Korea and create a pretext for a brief martial law declaration that followed the incursions. The ruling also sentenced Yoon's former defense minister to 30 years in prison. The verdict matters because it imposes one of the harshest penalties on a recent South Korean leader and raises urgent questions about civil-military oversight and regional stability with North Korea.

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