The Seoul High Court's dedicated panel for insurrection cases related to the Dec. 3 martial law crisis will begin full operations on the 23rd. Starting that day, appellate proceedings for major defendants—including former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was sentenced to life in prison at first instance on charges of being the insurrection ringleader; former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun; former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo; and former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min—will be reorganized around this dedicated panel.
According to legal sources on the 23rd, the Seoul High Court designated Criminal Division 1 and Criminal Division 12 as dedicated panels for insurrection cases. Criminal Division 1 consists of Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik and High Court Judges Min Sung-chul and Lee Dong-hyun, while Criminal Division 12 is composed of High Court Judges Lee Seung-chul, Cho Jin-goo, and Kim Min-a, and both will begin handling related cases from the 23rd. A configuration like Criminal Division 12, in which both the presiding judge and the associate judges are all high court judges, is known as an "equal-bench panel," meaning a court where hearings and deliberations take place in an equal structure among the panel members rather than centered on a particular presiding judge.
The dedicated panel for insurrection cases was established under the Special Act on Criminal Procedures for Crimes of Insurrection, Treason, and Rebellion. Under the special act, the dedicated panel handles insurrection, treason, rebellion, and related cases recognized as being of national importance. The aim is to separate them from ordinary criminal cases and provide a focused hearing system.
The case cluster to be handled by the Seoul High Court's dedicated panel includes not only the former president's case on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection but also the appeals of major Cabinet members such as the former prime minister, the former Minister, and the former Minister, who are accused of engaging in essential duties related to an insurrection. Core defendants whose first-instance verdicts have already been delivered will be brought under a single dedicated system at the appellate stage.
Earlier, at first instance, the former president was sentenced to life imprisonment on the 19th, and the former Minister was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The former prime minister was sentenced to 23 years, and the former Minister was sentenced to seven years. All these cases dispute the execution and involvement circumstances and the scope of responsibility for the Dec. 3 martial law crisis, and battles are expected to continue in the appeals over fact-finding, legal determinations, and sentencing.
Whether the former president's side and the special counsel for insurrection will appeal is also expected to take shape this week. The former president's defense team is reportedly set to appeal the first-instance ruling. The special counsel also plans to hold a meeting on the 23rd, attended by deputy special counsels and prosecutors of division-chief level or higher, to decide whether to appeal. The special counsel sought the death penalty for the former president during the closing arguments last month.
Regarding the former prime minister's case, the special counsel has already appealed parts of the acquittal. In legal circles, there is speculation that the special counsel is highly likely to appeal in the former president's case as well, citing reasons such as unjust sentencing. In particular, there is talk that detailed charges on which guilty and not guilty verdicts split at first instance and disputes over sentencing factors could be reorganized as issues on appeal.
Case assignments may also be reorganized. The former prime minister's appeal is currently temporarily assigned to Criminal Division 20 of the Seoul High Court, but reassignment is expected after the dedicated insurrection panels begin operating. There is also an outlook that the former president's second-instance case on charges including obstruction of arrest will be reassigned from Criminal Division 20 to a dedicated panel. The former president was sentenced to five years in prison on the 16th of last month for charges including obstructing the CIO's execution of an arrest and attempting to give the appearance of a Cabinet meeting by convening only some Cabinet members at the time martial law was declared.
The establishment of dedicated panels under the special act is not limited to appeals. At the Seoul Central District Court, two dedicated panels to handle first-instance insurrection cases will also be established on the 23rd. One panel consists of Presiding Judges Jang Sung-hun, Oh Chang-seop, and Ryu Chang-sung, and the other consists of Presiding Judges Jang Sung-jin, Jeong Soo-young, and Choi Young-gak.
However, cases in which first-instance hearings are already underway will remain with the current panels. The Seoul Central District Court is currently handling the cases of former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae and People Power Party lawmaker Choo Kyung-ho on charges of engaging in essential duties related to an insurrection, as well as the cases of military generals implicated in the Dec. 3 martial law. Accordingly, there is strong expectation that insurrection and treason cases to be newly indicted by the second special counsel, which launches this week, will be assigned to the Seoul Central District Court's dedicated insurrection panels.