On the 21st, the court found that former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo recognized that the Dec. 3 martial law had the purpose of subverting the constitutional order and constituted a riot.
The Criminal Agreement Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lee Jin-gwan) held the first-instance sentencing hearing for the case against the former prime minister on charges including aiding the ringleaders of insurrection and engaging in key duties of insurrection at 2 p.m. on the 21st in Supreme Courtroom 417 and stated accordingly.
Article 87 of the Criminal Act defines insurrection as an act of raising a riot with the purpose of excluding state power or disrupting the constitutional order in all or part of the territory of the Republic of Korea. For the Dec. 3 martial law to be recognized as the crime of insurrection, there must have been the purpose of "disrupting the constitutional order," and a "riot" must also have occurred.
The court determined that the Dec. 3 martial law constituted insurrection. The court said, "(Martial law) was declared for the purpose of subverting the constitutional order, and by mobilizing numerous military and police officials to occupy the National Assembly and other places and exercise physical force, it caused a riot that harmed a region."