According to a report by Yonhap on October 16, the independent prosecutor's office in South Korea, responsible for investigating internal unrest cases, requested the second-instance court to sentence former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Long-sung to 30 years in prison for the case of 'Pyongyang drone infiltration operations'. The independent prosecutor's office also requested a 20-year prison sentence for the previously charged former counterespionage commander, Ryun Yeom-ho.
The Independent Inspection Team accused Yin Xiyue and others of creating conditions for declaring an emergency martial law. In October 2024, they instructed the UAV Combat Command to infiltrate drones into Pyongyang, attempting to induce North Korea to launch a military provocation. The Independent Inspection Team stated that such actions could lead to local wars or even full-scale conflicts, and the criminal nature of these acts is more serious than that of civil unrest.
In the first instance trial, Yin Xiyue was convicted of the crime of generally opposing enemies and of abuse of power to obstruct others from exercising their rights. Yin Xiyue and Jin Longxian were sentenced to 30 years in prison each, while Lu Yinxiong was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
According to previous reports, on June 30, 2025, Park Sun-woon, a member of the Common Democratic Party in South Korea and the secretary of the ruling party’s Intelligence Committee of the South Korean Parliament, said during a press conference held in the parliament that he had received military information indicating that in October 2024, North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones to invade Pyongyang, and it was indeed the actions of the South Korean military.
In October 2024, North Korea publicly accused South Korea of having drones invade its airspace and flying over Pyongyang to distribute 'anti-North Korean leaflets', but the South Korean military denied these accusations.
Park Sun-woon stated that the Common Democratic Party continuously suspects that the Yun Seung-hee government is trying to create an excuse for martial law, thereby provoking North Korea. "This report is strong evidence that such suspicions are not simply concerns."
He emphasized that ‘the Yoon Suk-yeol government arbitrarily exercises the military command authority granted by the state, and even uses drones to provoke wars, which undermines democracy and the constitution. It has pushed our country’s security to the brink of collapse, and its responsibility must be held accountable.’
