{"id":9385,"date":"2026-01-21T11:10:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9385"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:10:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:10:47","slug":"s-koreas-former-pm-found-guilty-of-insurrection-given-23-years-in-prison-courts-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=9385","title":{"rendered":"S Korea\u2019s former PM found guilty of insurrection, given 23 years in prison | Courts News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo accused of failing to hold a lawful cabinet meeting following martial law declaration.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/8cf1b1e908e7453aa0e2d5a080fcfe32_6-1758090724.jpeg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 21 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">21 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">A South Korean court has sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty on insurrection charges related to disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s short-lived declaration of martial law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">Han was found guilty on Wednesday of abetting Yoon\u2019s brief imposition of martial law and for failing to hold a lawful cabinet meeting, as required by South Korean law, after the decree to mobilise the military was ordered by the then-president in December 2024.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">Han\u201ddisregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end\u201d, said Judge Lee Jin-gwan, of the Seoul Central District Court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">\u201cAs a result of the defendant\u2019s actions, South Korea was in danger \u200bof returning to the dark past \u200cwhen the basic rights and liberal democratic order of the people were violated, potentially preventing them from escaping from the quagmire of dictatorship for a long time,\u201d the judge said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">The court ordered Han to be detained after sentencing, citing concerns about the possible destruction of evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tr-story-p1\">Han, 76, is the first member of Yoon\u2019s cabinet to be found guilty and sentenced to jail in relation to the martial law declaration.<\/p>\n<p>The former prime minister denied the charges against him, saying he had no prior knowledge of Yoon\u2019s plan to impose military rule.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, a court sentenced Yoon to five years in jail after finding him guilty on charges linked to the imposition of martial law, including obstructing the work of authorities, fabricating official documents and failing to comply with legal processes.<\/p>\n<p>Separately, Yoon also faces more serious charges of leading an insurrection through the martial law decree. A special prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for Yoon, with a verdict in the case expected next month.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera\u2019s Jack Barton, reporting from Seoul, said Wednesday\u2019s verdict was crucial as Han was the first official to face a verdict on charges directly related to the martial law decree, and the court\u2019s ruling will likely have a bearing on Yoon\u2019s forthcoming verdict for insurrection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first verdict and 23 years he has received. That is higher than the 15 [years] the prosecution was asking for,\u201d Barton said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt certainly doesn\u2019t bode well for former President Yoon when his final verdict comes up \u2013 it is expected on February 19,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo accused of failing to hold a lawful cabinet meeting following martial law declaration. Published On 21 Jan 202621 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A South Korean court has sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison after finding him guilty on insurrection [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}