Following the decree to mobilize the military’s deployment by the then-president in December 2024, Han was found guilty of assisting Yoon’s brief passage to martial law and of failing to convene a lawful cabinet meeting as required by South Korean law.
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Judge Lee Jin-gwan of the Seoul Central District Court said Han “disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end.”
The defendant’s actions “could have caused South Korea to go back to the dark past, where the people’s fundamental rights and liberal democratic order were violated, potentially preventing them from escaping the grip of a long-term dictatorship,” the judge said.
In response to Han’s sentencing, the court ordered him to be detained because there were concerns about possible evidence destruction.
Han, 76, is the first Yoon’s cabinet official to be found guilty and given a jail term in connection with the declaration of martial law.
The former prime minister, who claimed he had no idea about Yoon’s military-imposed rule plan, refuted the accusations made against him.
After convicting Yoon on charges relating to the imposition of martial law, including obstructing authorities’ work, fabricating official documents, and failing to follow legal procedures, a court sentenced him to five years in jail last week.
Yoon is also accused of using the martial law decree to organize an insurrection. Yoon faces the death penalty, according to a special prosecutor’s request, and the case will be decided next month.
According to Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, who is based in Seoul, Wednesday’s verdict was crucial because Han was the first official to be found guilty of a charge directly connected to the martial law decree, and Yoon’s upcoming indictment for insurrection is likely to depend on the court’s decision.
“This is his first verdict in 23 years,” he declared. That is more than the prosecution’s 15-year limit, according to Barton.
Source: Aljazeera
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