South Korea’s former PM jailed for 23 years over rebellion

A South Korean court has declared the 2024 imposition of martial law by President Yoon Suk Yeol an act of rebellion, handing down a 23-year prison sentence to his former prime minister for his role.

Han Duck-soo, President Yoon's former prime minister, is the first official from that administration to be convicted on rebellion charges related to the December 2024 martial law declaration. This landmark verdict is expected to set a precedent for future rulings involving President Yoon and other associates, who also face similar accusations.

Appointed by Yoon to the nation's second-highest post, Han served as one of three caretaker leaders during the martial law crisis, which ultimately led to President Yoon's impeachment and removal from office.

Rebellion is one of the gravest charges in South Korea, with the independent counsel recently demanding the death penalty for Yoon, who was charged with masterminding a rebellion. The Seoul Central District Court is to rule on Yoon's rebellion charges on Feb. 19.

In its televised verdict Wednesday, the Seoul court determined Yoon's martial law decree amounted to a rebellion, viewing his dispatch of troops and police officers to Parliament and election offices as "a riot" or "a self-coup" that was meant to undermine the constitutional order and was serious enough to disrupt stability in the region.

The court sentenced Han for playing a key role in Yoon's rebellion by trying to give procedural legitimacy to Yoon's martial law decree by getting it passed through a Cabinet Council meeting. The court also convicted Han of falsifying the martial law proclamation and destroying it and lying under oath.

Han, who could appeal Wednesday's ruling, has steadfastly maintained that he had told Yoon that he opposed his martial law plan. He has denied most of the other charges.

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The court said Han, then prime minister, neglected his responsibilities to protect the constitution, choosing instead to take part in Yoon's rebellion in the belief that it might succeed.

"Because of the defendant's action, the Republic of Korea could have returned to a dark past when the basic rights of the people and the liberal democratic order were trampled upon, becoming trapped in the quagmire of dictatorships for an extended period," judge Lee Jin-gwan said.

After the court's ruling, Han was immediately sent to prison, according to the court. Unlike Yoon, he had not been detained before sentencing. His lengthy sentence came as a surprise as the independent counsel earlier requested 15 years in prison.

Yoon, who has already been in jail for months, faces eight criminal trials including his rebellion case over the martial law decree and other allegations. Last Friday, Yoon received a five-year prison term at the Seoul court for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and denying some Cabinet members their rights to deliberate on his martial law decree.

Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied the charges of rebellion, saying he only aimed to draw public support of his fight against the main liberal opposition party which obstructed his agenda. Speaking at Friday's court session, Yoon denounced authorities for their rebellion investigations as "frenzied," arguing that they involved "manipulation" and "distortion."