Yoon sentenced to 30 years; Unification Ministry calls drone infiltration 'historic tragedy'

The Ministry of Unification on Friday responded to charges that former President Yoon Suk Yeol had sent drones into Pyongyang, calling it "a historic tragedy and an act that can never be condoned" for a former president to abandon his responsibility for national security and public safety and push the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war.

A court sentenced Yoon to 30 years in prison Friday on charges that he infiltrated drones into Pyongyang to provoke North Korea into retaliating — part of an alleged effort to manufacture a pretext for declaring emergency martial law.

The ministry issued a statement on the first-instance ruling in the drone infiltration case, saying the government "will work to ensure that this devastating tragedy is never repeated and that peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula and a people-sovereignty-based North Korea policy take firm root."

The court found Yoon and others guilty on all counts, including general treason and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights.