Former President Yoon Suk Yeol dispatched drones to North Korea to create a pretext for his declaration of martial law, a Seoul court ruled on Friday, finding him guilty of endangering the military and citizens through a “private” scheme.

The Seoul Central District Court’s 36th Criminal Division sentenced Yoon to 30 years in prison on the conviction of benefiting the enemy (일반이적죄), concluding that he conspired with his former defense minister and counterintelligence chief to manufacture a national emergency.

“In order to fabricate the legal prerequisites for the declaration of emergency martial law and, at the same time, to secure