soul
AP
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A South Korean court ruled on Wednesday that then-President Yun Seok-Yeol’s ill-fated imposition of martial law amounted to treason, and sentenced the prime minister to 23 years in prison for his involvement.
Former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo became the first Yun government official to be convicted of sedition in connection with the imposition of martial law in December 2024. This ruling is expected to set the stage for future rulings regarding Yoon and other officials who are also charged with sedition.
Appointed by Yun, Han served as one of three interim leaders during the martial law crisis that led to Yun’s impeachment and eventual removal from office.
The rebellion is one of the most serious criminal charges in South Korea, and an independent prosecutor recently recommended the death penalty for Mr. Yoon, who was charged with masterminding the rebellion. The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled to issue a verdict on Yoon’s sedition charges on February 19.
In a televised ruling, the Seoul court ruled that Mr. Yoon’s martial law constituted an insurrection, and that Mr. Yoon’s deployment of military and police forces to the National Assembly and election offices was an “insurrection” or “self-coup” intended to undermine constitutional order, and serious enough to disrupt South Korea’s stability.
The court tried to give procedural legitimacy to martial law by passing it through the cabinet, and sentenced Mr. Han for playing a key role in the rebellion. The court also found Mr. Han guilty of falsifying and annuling the martial law proclamation and taking an oath.
Mr. Han, 76, who may appeal the ruling, is adamant that he told Mr. Yun that he opposes the martial law plan. He denies most of the other charges.
The court said Mr. Han ignored his responsibility as prime minister, South Korea’s second-highest post, to protect the constitution, choosing instead to join Mr. Yoon’s rebellion in the belief that it might succeed.
Judge Lee Jin-kwan said, “Through the defendant’s actions, the fundamental rights of the people and the free democratic order were trampled upon, and there was a possibility that the Republic of Korea would return to its dark past, where it was mired in a dictatorial regime for a long time.”
Mr. Han’s long sentence was surprising, as an independent prosecutor had previously recommended a 15-year sentence.
He is a career bureaucrat who served as prime minister twice during his 40 years in office, first under liberal President Roh Moo-hyun from 2007 to 2008 and then under Mr. Yoon.
Han became acting president after Yun was impeached by the opposition-dominated National Assembly in late December 2024. However, Han was soon impeached after he got into a spat with opposition members over his refusal to fill a vacant seat on the Constitutional Court, which was deliberating whether to formally remove Yun from office. Observers said at the time that the possibility of Yoon’s removal could increase if the court’s bench returned to full capacity.
Later, the Constitutional Court reinstated Han as acting president. However, after a court formally removed Yun from office as president in early April, Han resigned to run for president in a snap general election last June. He failed to win the nomination of the main conservative party and ultimately withdrew from the race.
Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, won the election.
Yun has already been in jail for several months and faces eight criminal trials, including sedition over martial law and other charges. Yun was sentenced last Friday in a Seoul court to five years in prison for resisting attempts to detain him, fabricating martial law and denying some ministers the right to deliberate martial law.
Mr. Yoon, a conservative, has categorically denied the charges of sedition, insisting that his only purpose was to rally public support in his fight against the Democratic Party, which is interfering with his policies. In court last week, Yoon denounced the investigation into his charges as “frenzied” and claimed there had been “manipulation” and “distortion” in the investigation.
In declaring martial law, Yun called the opposition-controlled parliament a “den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-national forces.”
However, as thousands of people gathered to protest Yun’s decree, many of the military and police forces he sent to the rallies did not actively take control of the area. Eventually, enough lawmakers entered the chamber and rejected Yun’s ordinance.
Although no large-scale violence occurred, Yoon’s brief enforcement of martial law was reminiscent of a past dictatorship that South Koreans have not seen since the 1980s. The ensuing political turmoil and domestic power vacuum tarnished the country’s international image and disrupted diplomatic and financial markets.
In addition to Mr. Han, Mr. Yun’s defense, security, and justice ministers, spies, police chiefs, and some of his top military officials have been charged with sedition and other crimes related to the imposition of martial law.
