Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison for sending drones into North Korea—a move prosecutors stated was aimed at fabricating a pretext to declare martial law in December 2024.

Prosecutors in charge of the case had stated last April that Yoon’s endeavors to "fabricate war conditions" using the drones undermined national security.

This ruling follows a previous sentence handed down to Yoon last February, which condemned him to life imprisonment on charges of leading an insurrection aimed at "paralyzing" the South Korean parliament through the declaration of martial law.

A spokesperson for the Seoul Central District Court told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Yoon "was sentenced to 30 years in prison" for the charges leveled against him.

According to the Yonhap News Agency, prosecutors further explained that the operation escalated tensions with North Korea and caused the leak of classified information, including details regarding the country's military capabilities following the crash of the drones.

The former president has appealed the sentence, insisting that he declared martial law "solely for the benefit of the nation."

Yoon’s legal team denied the charges related to the drones, asserting that there was "no prior order or subsequent approval" on his part regarding the drone operation upon which the prosecution based its case.

Defense lawyers explained that the operation came in response to North Korea sending trash-carrying balloons across the border that year, arguing it was a "legitimate act of self-defense" and had no connection to Yoon’s declaration of martial law. They refuted the prosecutors' claims, calling them "a narrative based on speculation and sheer slander."

The issue of sending drones to Pyongyang remains a point of tension in relations between the two Koreas, which remain practically at war, as their 1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Earlier this year, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed his regret after an official investigation revealed that government officials had sent drones to the North in January—an action that Pyongyang initially appeared to welcome before reversing its stance to label its southern neighbor "the most hostile enemy state."