[Choice Times=Sang-Hyun Park, Staff Reporter]

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (77) has been sentenced to 23 years in prison and immediately taken into custody on charges including aiding the ringleader of an insurrection.

The court handed down a sentence significantly harsher than the 15 years sought by special prosecutors.

The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 33, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-gwan, found Han guilty of aiding the leader of an insurrection, playing a key role in the insurrection, and perjury, and imposed a 23-year prison term.

The court ruled that the December 3 declaration of martial law constituted an act of insurrection, stating that it obstructed constitutionally guaranteed political activities and infringed upon constitutional institutions, including the National Election Commission.

Presiding Judge Lee said in court that “Yoon Suk-yeol’s declaration of martial law was an insurrection from above — a so-called praetorian coup,” adding that “had it succeeded, it would have led to a long-term authoritarian dictatorship.”

Attention is now focused on how this judicial determination — equating the declaration of martial law with insurrection — may affect the ongoing trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, overseen by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon.

The court emphasized that Han, as prime minister end owed with democratic legitimacy and responsibility, was obligated to uphold the Constitution and laws and to do everything possible to protect and realize constitutional order.
“Nevertheless,” the court said, “believing that the December 3 insurrection might succeed, he ultimately turned away from these duties and chose to participate as part of the plot.”

The ruling continued: “As a result of these actions, the Republic of Korea came perilously close to returning to a dark past in which the basic rights of the people and the liberal democratic order were trampled, potentially sinking into prolonged authoritarian rule. The public was left with indelible trauma and loss.”

The court further criticized Han for failing to uncover the truth or take responsibility after the lifting of martial law, insteadconcealing related documents for personal self-preservation, drafting and later destroying false official documents to make the declaration appear procedurally lawful, and committing perjury before the Constitutional Court.

Han was also found guilty of signing — alongside former President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun — a post hoc martial law proclamation drafted by former presidential aide Kang Eui-gu, intended to correct legal flaws in the original declaration, and then destroying the document.

Additionally, in February last year, Han testified as a witness during the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial of the president, where he falsely claimed that he had been unaware of the martial law proclamation, leading to the perjury charge.

#MartialLawTrial #InsurrectionVerdict #SouthKoreaPolitics