Top ally of South Korea's Yoon given 23 years in prison for rebellion over martial law crisis

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean court ruled Wednesday that the 2024 imposition of martial law by then President Yoon Suk Yeol constituted an act of rebellion as it sentenced his prime minister to 23 years in prison for his involvement.

Ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became the first Yoon administration official convicted of rebellion charges in related to Yoon's martial law imposition in December 2024. The verdict is expected to set the stage for upcoming rulings involving Yoon and his other associates, who also face rebellion charges.

Han, who was appointed by Yoon prime minister, the No. 2 post in South Korea, served as one of the three caretaker leaders during moments of the martial law crisis that led to Yoon's impeachment and eventually his removal from office.

Rebellion is one of the gravest charges in South Korea, with the independent counsel recently demanding the death penalty for Yoon, who was charged with masterminding a rebellion. The Seoul Central District Court is to rule on Yoon's rebellion charges on Feb. 19.

In its televised verdict Wednesday, the Seoul court determined Yoon's martial law decree amounted to a rebellion, viewing his dispatch of troops and police officers to Parliament and election offices as ''a riot'' or ''a self-coup'' that was meant to undermine the constitutional order and was serious enough to disrupt stability in the region.

The court sentenced Han for playing a key role in Yoon's rebellion by trying to give procedural legitimacy to Yoon's martial law decree by getting it passed through a Cabinet Council meeting. The court also convicted Han of falsifying the martial law proclamation and destroying it and lying under oath.

Han, who could appeal Wednesday's ruling, has steadfastly maintained that he had told Yoon that he opposed his martial law plan. He has denied most of the other charges.

''Because of the defendant's action, the Republic of Korea could have returned to a dark past when the basic rights of the people and the liberal democratic order were trampled upon, becoming trapped in the quagmire of dictatorships for an extended period,'' judge Lee Jin-gwan said.

After the court's ruling, Han was immediately sent to prison, according to the court. Unlike Yoon, he had not been detained before sentencing. His lengthy sentence came as a surprise as the independent counsel earlier requested 15 years in prison.

Yoon, who has already been in jail for months, faces eight criminal trials including his rebellion case over the martial law decree and other allegations. Last Friday, Yoon received a five-year prison term at the Seoul court for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and denying some Cabinet members their rights to deliberate on his martial law decree.