Ex-PM Han attends 1st hearing of insurrection trial

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attends the first hearing of his trial on insurrection charges related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 imposition of martial law, at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday attended the first hearing of his trial on charges of abetting former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed imposition of martial law.

Han has been indicted on charges of abetting the ringleader of an insurrection in connection with the martial law imposition in December, perjury and falsifying official documents, among other offenses.

Upon arriving at the Seoul Central District Court, he entered the building without answering reporters' questions.

The hearing will be broadcast online after personal information is anonymized as special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested it and the bench approved.

Both the special counsel team and Han's side will give opening remarks.

An examination of evidence will follow using surveillance camera footage of the presidential office on Dec. 3, when Han allegedly left the Cabinet meeting room with papers printed with the martial law declaration and Yoon's address to the nation.

Han was one of the attendees at a Cabinet meeting held shortly before Yoon declared martial law that day.

The special counsel team has requested, however, that the footage examination be excluded from the broadcast out of national security considerations as the video is classified as a Grade 3 military secret.

In addition to abetting the martial law imposition, Han's indictment accuses him of drafting a revised proclamation after Dec. 3 with the aim of enhancing the legitimacy of the decree and later destroying it.

He also stands accused of lying under oath at the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly that he was not aware Yoon had given him a copy of the martial law declaration until after the decree was lifted.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Central District Court said it has assigned an additional judge to the bench handling trials involving former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in a bid to speed up proceedings.

According to the court, a new judge has been dispatched to the three-member panel led by Judge Lee Jin-kwan, which is overseeing Han's trial.

The same bench is also presiding over a separate trial involving a shaman closely linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The move is part of the court's broader efforts to speed up proceedings of cases brought by special counsels, with the court noting that it would actively consider adjusting other ordinary cases if requested.

Earlier this month, the court similarly expanded the bench led by Judge Jee Kui-youn, which is in charge of Yoon's insurrection trial.