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South Korean Court to Hear Former President Yoon’s Appeal on July 15
The Seoul High Court will begin an appeal trial July 15 for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges he ordered drone flights into North Korea to create a pretext for martial law. Yoon received a 30-year prison sentence last month in the case.
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The Seoul High Court has scheduled the first hearing in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's appeal trial for July 15 on charges that he ordered drone incursions into North Korea to provoke a clash that could justify his martial law declaration, Yonhap reported.
Yoon was convicted last month and sentenced to 30 years in prison for directing the Drone Operations Command in October 2024 to fly unmanned aerial vehicles toward Pyongyang. The operation aimed to trigger a military incident that would support his December 2024 martial law bid, which the National Assembly overturned within hours.
Co-defendants received separate sentences that both sides have appealed. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was given 30 years in prison. Yeo In-hyung, then commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, received 15 years.
Kim Yong-dae, former head of the Drone Operations Command, was given a suspended three-year term. Yoon faces additional proceedings tied to the martial law episode. A district court earlier sentenced him to life imprisonment on insurrection charges.
The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk joined the defendants in appealing the lower court rulings.
