Former Korean Prime Minister Jailed For 23 Years

Former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for his role in an insurrection during former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration.

The verdict was delivered on January 21, KST, where the court ruled that the December 3, 2024, martial law attempt constituted an act of treason and ordered the immediate detention of Han. He is the first official from the Yoon administration convicted of treason charges. Han has the right to appeal.

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The court found that Han Duck Soo had actively created the appearance of a legitimate cabinet meeting to give procedural legitimacy to the martial law decree and handed him a 23-year prison sentence, while the prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term. The judge, Lee Jin Kwan, rejected the term, using precedents from previous military coups as sentencing guidelines. He called the December 2024 event a “self-coup” by elected power, which posed a unique threat to the institution of democracy.

In a televised verdict, Lee said that while Han’s duty as a prime minister was to prevent the insurrection, he “chose to join” it instead. The court also found no genuine remorse and noted that Han had lied throughout the trial and attempted to hide evidence. One of the most damaging pieces of evidence in this trial was a December 8 phone call in which Han told an official aide to destroy a previous martial law document to remove his signature. This led the court to conclude that he knew about Yoon’s martial law plan hours before his public announcement.

The court also found the former prime minister guilty of forging false documents, destroying presidential records, and perjury during Yoon’s impeachment proceedings.

Han Duck Soo is a career diplomat who has served five presidents across conservative and progressive administrations. He was appointed the prime minister by Yoon Suk Yeol in May 2022, making him the longest-serving prime minister under any single president in the country’s history. Throughout the trial, Han insisted that he had never supported or tried to help the martial law plans, even claiming that he had privately opposed it.

The imprisonment of Han Duck Soo is expected to set the stage for upcoming trials involving Yoon Suk Yeol and his other associates, who are also facing treason-related charges. The public’s attention is particularly on Yoon’s insurrection trial, which is scheduled for February 19. Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for him.