Yoon Suk Yeol to receive first-instance verdict Friday on Pyongyang drone charges; special prosecutor sought 30-year term

A Seoul court will deliver its first-instance verdict Friday against former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges that he ordered drones sent to Pyongyang to manufacture a pretext for the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration.

Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 36, presided over by Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, will hold the sentencing hearing that day, legal sources said Sunday. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyeong and former Drone Operations Command chief Kim Yong-dae — all co-indicted — will receive their first-instance rulings at the same time.

Yoon and the others are accused of dispatching drones to Pyongyang on multiple occasions around October 2024 to provoke a North Korean response that could be used to justify declaring martial law. The insurrection special prosecutor's office, led by Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok, argued that charges of aiding the enemy are valid because at least one drone crashed near Pyongyang, leaking military secrets. Yoon's defense team has denied that he ordered or subsequently approved the operation, calling any link between the drone missions and the martial law declaration a fabrication.

The special prosecutor's office sought a 30-year prison term for Yoon at the final arguments hearing. It requested 25 years for Kim Yong-hyun, 20 years for Yeo and five years for Kim Yong-dae. Because the proceedings involved classified national security information, most of the trial was held behind closed doors, though the sentencing hearing will be open to the public.

The court is tightening security in anticipation of large crowds near the courthouse on verdict day. Starting at 8 p.m. Thursday and continuing until the situation is resolved after sentencing, all private vehicles except those on essential duty will be barred from the courthouse grounds. Some entrances, including the main gate and north gate, will be closed, and enhanced security screening will be in place. Rallies and demonstrations on courthouse grounds are prohibited outright, and anyone carrying related materials may be denied entry.

Thursday will also bring a first-instance ruling against former Marine Corps 1st Division commander Im Sung-geun, who faces perjury charges under the Act on Testimony and Appraisal before the National Assembly. Criminal Division 22 of Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Jo Hyeong-u, is handling the case. Im is accused of falsely testifying before the Assembly that he had never met Lee Jong-ho, former chief of Black Pearl Investment. The special prosecutor's office investigating the death of a Marine corporal, led by Special Prosecutor Lee Myeong-hyeon, sought a three-year prison term at the final arguments hearing.