The appellate ruling for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was sentenced to 23 years in prison at the first trial on charges including engaging in important duties in an insurrection, will be delivered on the 7th.
The Criminal Division 12-1 of the Seoul High Court (High Court Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Cho Jin-gu, and Kim Min-a) will hold the sentencing hearing for the appeal at 10 a.m. that day on charges including engaging in important duties in an insurrection, falsifying official documents, and perjury by the former prime minister.
In the appeal as well, the issues are expected to be, as in the first trial, whether the Dec. 3 martial law constitutes insurrection, the extent of the former prime minister's involvement, and the scope of responsibility. The panel's decision will also be the first judgment by the Seoul High Court's dedicated insurrection division on insurrection-related charges.
Han's side argued in the appeal that "at the time of the Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, [we] tried to dissuade former President Yoon Suk-yeol," and that "[we] never joined martial law with the purpose of subverting the constitutional order."
On the 7th of last month in a final statement, the former prime minister said, "As the prime minister at the time who failed to stop the declaration of martial law, I feel boundless responsibility before the people and history," and "I spend each moment in self-reproach and offered a sincere apology immediately after the martial law in the National Assembly's plenary session before lawmakers representing the people."
By contrast, the special counsel for insurrection sought a 23-year prison term, the same as the sentence imposed at the first trial. That is heavier than the 15-year term the special counsel sought at the first trial.
The former prime minister was indicted on charges of failing to stop the illegal declaration of martial law despite having, as the "No. 2 in state affairs," the duty as prime minister to check the president's abuse of power.
He was also charged with signing the postdated declaration of martial law and requesting its destruction. In addition, the former prime minister is suspected of perjury on Feb. 20 last year when he appeared as a witness in the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of the former president, saying he was not aware of the declaration of martial law.
In January, the first-trial court sentenced the former prime minister to 23 years in prison and took him into custody. It found not guilty on allegations that, for the purpose of satisfying procedural requirements for declaring martial law, he checked through then Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Bang Ki-seon and others whether the declaration would pass the National Assembly, and on suspicions that he delayed the State Council's deliberation on lifting martial law.
Meanwhile, the hearing will be broadcast live in real time by broadcasters. The court has allowed live sentencing broadcasts only for cases with high public interest and social attention. The former prime minister's first-trial sentencing hearing was also broadcast live.