South Korea: Ex-PM Han attends 1st hearing of insurrection trial

Seoul, Sep 30 Former South Korean 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 offences.

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 anonymised, 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, Yonhap news agency reported.

In addition to abetting the martial law imposition, Han's indictment accuses him of drafting a revised proclamation after December 3 to enhance 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 that Yoon had given him a copy of the martial law declaration until after the decree was lifted.

Han Duck-soo is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as the acting president of South Korea in December 2024 and from March to May 2025 and as the prime minister of South Korea from 2007 to 2008 and from 2022 to 2025.

Han is the fifth person to hold the prime minister's office twice, having served under Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Yoon Suk Yeol. He also held office as the minister of economy and finance from 2005 to 2006, the ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2012, and the chairman of the Korea International Trade Association from 2012 to 2015.

After the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December 2024, Han became the acting president of South Korea. Thirteen days later, Han himself was also impeached by the National Assembly of South Korea due to his refusal to promulgate two special counsel bills that sought to investigate the impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, along with failing to appoint three National Assembly-designated candidates for the Constitutional Court of Korea.

This ended his role as acting president and suspended his powers as prime minister, with both duties being transferred to Choi Sang-mok.

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