Buenos Aires, January 21 (NA) – The former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Han Duck-soo, was sentenced this Wednesday to 23 years in prison for helping and instigating the insurrection of the ousted President Yoon Suk-yeol. The Central District Court of Seoul handed down the sentence against Han for complicity in the insurrection and for playing key roles related to the declaration of martial law pushed by Yoon, as learned by the Argentine News Agency. The independent special prosecutor who led the investigation into Yoon's insurrection, Cho Eun-suk, had requested a 15-year prison sentence. The court confirmed that Yoon's declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, constituted an insurrection aimed at subverting the constitutional order, stating that Han contributed to providing a procedural facade of legitimacy to the illegal martial law by convening an illegal cabinet meeting. It also determined that had Han properly fulfilled his duties as Prime Minister, the insurrection could have been avoided. According to the Xinhua agency, the ruling emphasized that Han concealed documents related to martial law for personal security reasons, as well as falsified and subsequently destroyed documents to make it appear that the measure had followed legal procedures. After the sentence was handed down, the court ordered the immediate detention of Han in the courtroom, considering there was a risk of evidence destruction.
