The court viewed the Dec. 3 martial law as an "insurrection from above." It said it was a "praetorian coup" different from the "insurrections from below" that have occurred in Korea.
The Criminal Agreement Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan, Director General) opened the first-instance sentencing hearing at 2 p.m. in Supreme Courtroom 417 on charges including aiding the leader of an insurrection and engaging in key insurrection duties against former Prime Minister Han, and stated accordingly.
A praetorian coup (self-coup) is a coup in which a lawfully elected leader overturns the constitutional order and uses illegal means such as the military or police to strengthen or extend power. It is different from a typical coup that seeks to topple a regime.
Earlier, former President Yoon Suk-yeol, after being sought the death penalty by the special prosecutor on the 14th on charges of leading an insurrection, said in his final statement, "I thought naively. How could such a fool carry out a praetorian coup? To pull off a praetorian coup, you have to be quick on the uptake. You need to have outstanding political savvy."