South Korean Prosecutors Ask for 30 Years in Prison for Former President Yoon Suk Yeol

Apr 24, 2026, 08:16

Introduction

On April 24, 2025, special prosecutors in South Korea asked a judge to send former President Yoon Suk Yeol to prison for 30 years. They say he sent military drones over North Korea in October 2024.

Main Body

The prosecutors say Yoon ordered the drone flights. They say he wanted a reason to declare martial law on December 3, 2024. Martial law is when the army controls the country. The charges against Yoon are helping the enemy and using his power in a bad way. The prosecutors say the drone flights made the two Koreas very angry at each other. One drone crashed. Then secret military information came out. The prosecutors also asked for 25 years in prison for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. He helped plan the martial law. Yoon says he did not do these things. His lawyers say he did not start a fight with North Korea. Yoon is already in prison for life. A court found him guilty of leading a rebellion in February 2025. Both Yoon and the prosecutors are fighting that decision in a higher court. North Korea first said South Korea sent drones in October 2024. At first, South Korea said no. Later, it said it could not be sure. The martial law lasted only six hours. Then the lawmakers voted to stop it. Yoon lost his job in December 2024. The Constitutional Court removed him in April 2025. Police arrested him in July 2025. The new president is Lee Jae-myung. He won an early election in June 2025. He said sorry to North Korea for the drone flights. He wants to have better relations with North Korea. He will stop these actions.

Conclusion

The Seoul Central District Court will give its decision about the drone charges later. This is one of many court cases against Yoon. He is still in prison for the rebellion.

Vocabulary Learning

ask
To say you want something to happen.請求；要求
Example:The prosecutors ask the judge for 30 years in prison.
enemy
A person or country that fights against you.敵人
Example:Helping the enemy is a very bad thing.
prison
A place where people who do bad things must stay.監獄
Example:The judge can send him to prison.
send
To make something go from one place to another.發送；派遣
Example:They send drones over North Korea.
sorry
Feeling sad about something you did.抱歉的；對不起的
Example:The new president said sorry to North Korea.

Sentence Learning

On April 24, 2025, special prosecutors in South Korea asked a judge to send former President Yoon Suk Yeol to prison for 30 years.
This sentence has a subject (prosecutors), a verb (asked), and an object (judge). It tells us what the prosecutors wanted.本句包含主語（檢察官）、動詞（請求）以及受詞（法官）。它告訴我們檢察官想要什麼。
They say he wanted a reason to declare martial law on December 3, 2024.
This sentence uses the verb 'say' to report what someone thinks. 'He wanted' shows a past desire.本句使用動詞「說」來報告某人的想法。「他想要」表示過去的意願。
The charges against Yoon are helping the enemy and using his power in a bad way.
This sentence uses the verb 'are' to describe the charges. 'Helping' and 'using' are actions that explain the charges.本句使用動詞「是」來描述指控。「幫助」以及「使用」是解釋指控的行為。
The prosecutors say the drone flights made the two Koreas very angry at each other.
This sentence uses 'made' to show a cause and effect. The drone flights caused the two Koreas to feel angry.本句使用「使得」來表示因果關係。無人機飛行導致兩個韓國對彼此感到憤怒。
A court found him guilty of leading a rebellion in February 2025.
This sentence uses the verb 'found' to mean the court decided something. 'Guilty of' is a common phrase for a crime.本句使用動詞「裁定」來表示法院決定了某事。「犯有……罪」是描述犯罪的常見片語。