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Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attends his sentencing listening to on the Seoul Central District Court docket in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
A Seoul court docket sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in jail on Wednesday over his involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial legislation on Dec. 3, 2024, discovering Han responsible of aiding an rebel and taking part in a central position in its execution.
The ruling marked the judiciary’s first specific dedication on whether or not the martial legislation declaration constituted an act of rebel. The choice is predicted to closely affect the continued trial of the previous president, for which a verdict on rebel expenses is scheduled for subsequent month.
The jail time period for Han was heavier than the particular prosecution’s earlier request of 15 years. Han was taken into custody instantly following the ruling.
“The declaration of martial legislation was issued with the aim of undermining the constitutional order, and constituted an act of rebel,” the Seoul Central District Court docket stated.
It added that Han, because the nation’s second-highest-ranking official, didn’t take ample steps to forestall the declaration and as a substitute turned concerned in procedures to make it seem authorized.
The court docket cited his position in convening Cupboard discussions and his involvement in dealing with a martial legislation decree ready after the declaration, saying the transfer amounted to taking part in “a vital activity in finishing up the rebel.”
The previous prime minister’s sentencing listening to was broadcast reside, reflecting the case’s public significance.
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attends his sentencing listening to on the Seoul Central District Court docket, Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul Central District Court docket
It marked the primary case by which a former Cupboard member confronted a judicial ruling over the incident, drawing shut consideration to how the court docket would assess the legality of the declaration itself.
Prosecutors argued that Han performed a central position in giving procedural legitimacy to what they described as an illegal declaration of martial legislation. The particular prosecution staff stated Han was conscious of the plan and didn’t take significant steps to cease it, as a substitute turning into concerned in Cupboard-level processes that facilitated its implementation.
They argued that Han, as prime minister, had a constitutional obligation to restrain the president’s arbitrary use of emergency powers. They positioned specific emphasis on his involvement in dealing with a decree ready after the declaration, which was meant to deal with procedural defects within the unique order. The doc was later discarded.
The court docket additionally discovered that he consented to measures akin to reducing energy and water provides to media shops, acts the court docket stated amounted to performing a key operational position within the rebel.
Han rejected the prosecution’s claims, sustaining that he neither supported nor assisted the martial legislation imposition. In his closing assertion to the court docket, Han stated he had “by no means agreed with martial legislation and by no means meant to assist it,” including that whereas he tried to steer the president to rethink the choice alongside different Cupboard members, “there was no sensible method to cease it.” He has persistently denied taking part in any position in its imposition.
The court docket, nonetheless, rejected these claims, citing proof that Han didn’t intervene to dam the measures and as a substitute allowed them to proceed.
The ruling is extensively seen as a key reference level for the court docket’s upcoming judgment on Yoon, who faces expenses of main the rebel. Whereas a separate court docket has beforehand acknowledged the unconstitutionality of the martial legislation declaration, it stopped in need of figuring out whether or not the act constituted rebel.
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