Yoon Suk Yeol has filed an appeal on the same day he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his involvement in a drone incident in Pyongyang, which was purportedly aimed at justifying the declaration of a state of emergency on December 3.
According to legal sources on June 12, Yoon's defense team submitted the appeal against the first trial verdict, which found him guilty of treason and abuse of power.
Yoon is accused of instructing the infiltration of drones into North Korea around October 2024 to provoke military actions from the North, thereby securing justification for declaring a state of emergency. He is also charged with abusing his authority by issuing operational orders to military personnel.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 36, presided over by Judge Lee Jeong-yeop, found Yoon guilty of both treason and abuse of power, imposing a 30-year prison sentence, the same penalty sought by the special prosecutor's team led by Cho Eun-seok.
Following the sentencing, Yoon's defense team stated, "The special prosecutor's investigation and indictment are acts of treason themselves," indicating their intention to appeal.
They further argued, "Our military's use of drones to distribute leaflets to North Korea was a legitimate military operation in response to North Korea's 7,000 balloon attacks. It is the special prosecutor's excessive investigation and indictment that seriously undermines national security."
Additionally, they claimed, "The court accepted the special prosecutor's assertion, which dragged a non-existent treason framework into the realm of criminal law, leading to the guilty verdict against Yoon."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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