Appeals court cuts ex-PM’s sentence to 15 years, but upholds insurrection conviction

People watch a live broadcast of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s trial, at Seoul Station in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday after an appeals court overturned a lower court ruling but still found him guilty of playing a key role in an insurrection linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law.

A panel of judges, led by Lee Seung-cheol, at the Seoul High Court quashed the original 23-year sentence and reduced it to 15 years, while issuing a strongly worded condemnation that any act aimed at extinguishing the Constitution’s functions can “never be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Judges ruled that the martial law decree, declared by Yoon in December 2024, was unconstitutional and unlawful, and said Han helped give it the appearance of legitimacy by proposing a Cabinet meeting that made it look as if the decision had undergone proper deliberation. The court found that by proposing the meeting and trying to have Cabinet ministers sign related documents after the declaration, he performed an important role in the insurrection.

The court said an insurrection does not merely paralyze state functions but “fundamentally undermines public trust that laws and institutions will operate normally.”

“As prime minister, the defendant, who serves as the president’s top aide and the second-highest official in the executive branch, had a duty to support the president in exercising his powers in a constitutional and lawful manner and check any improper use of those powers,” the court said. “Nevertheless, the defendant abandoned the responsibilities that came with his authority and position, siding with the insurrection by seeking to give the declaration of martial law a veneer of procedural legitimacy, and then committing further offenses afterward to conceal his culpability.”

The court upheld most of his major convictions. It held him guilty of performing important duties in furtherance of the insurrection by discussing with then-Interior Minister Lee Sang-min how to carry out orders to seal off major institutions and cut power and water supplies to media outlets. The judges also concluded that he committed perjury when he appeared as a witness at the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial of Yoon in February 2025 and claimed he had not seen the martial law decree.

The court criticized Han for trying to minimize his responsibility.

“Yet, the defendant keeps repeating that he cannot remember because he was shocked by the declaration of martial law, appears preoccupied with avoiding responsibility, and gives statements that are difficult to accept,” said the court.

It also noted that Han, who was appointed as a public official in the interior ministry in the 1970s and lived through the declaration of martial law in the 1980s, was well aware of the extensive damage and confusion that such a situation could cause.

In setting the sentence, the court took note of Han's over 50 years in public service, adding that there was little evidence to prove he had taken part in preplanning or played a leadership role in the insurrection.

After the ruling, Han bowed his head toward the bench before leaving the courtroom. His lawyers told reporters that the decision was unacceptable and that they will bring the case to the Supreme Court.