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Judge Lee Jin-gwan reads the court’s verdict in the trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on charges of performing essential duties in services of an insurrection on Jan. 21, 2026, at the Seoul Central District Court. (courtesy of the Seoul Central District Court)

The court’s unconventional decision to go beyond the 15-year sentence requested by prosecutors and sentence former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison was based on its judgment that the declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, posed a significantly greater danger as an “insurrection from the top.”
 
Judge Lee Jin-gwan of the Seoul Central District Court, the presiding judge in Han’s initial trial, had garnered attention for his firm demeanor throughout the trial process, and his characteristic resolve appears to have been reflected in the court’s sentencing.  
 
“The Dec. 3 insurrection was carried out by former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was selected by the people to lead the country, and his followers. This amounted to an insurrection from the top, or what is known as a self-coup,” Lee said as he explained how the court determined the length of Han’s sentence. 
 
“The dangers that insurrections from the top pose are incomparable to those that arise from below,” the court ruled. “Above all, a publicly elected leader carried out acts of insurrection in complete disregard for the Constitution and the country’s laws, thereby undermining the public’s fundamental belief in democracy and the rule of law.”
 
The 23-year prison sentence handed to Han also reflected the court’s resolve to throw the book at the radical forces that the Dec. 3 self-coup acted as a call to arms for. The storming of Seoul Western District Court following the issuance of Yoon’s arrest warrant was also mentioned during the sentencing.
 
“We are surrounded by those who believe that the right to resist, which is reserved for exigent circumstances, can be wielded irresponsibly, those who claim that the declaration of martial law was made to ‘enlighten’ or to ‘warn,’ and those, like the perpetrators of the riot at Seoul Western District Court, who believe that it is only natural to violate the Constitution and laws and cause harmful situations for the sake of their political positions,” said Lee. “The Dec. 3 insurrection engendered and propagated this kind of deleterious thinking.”
 
At one point during the reading of the verdict, as he addressed Han’s claim that martial law was lifted in six hours and caused no casualties, Lee appeared to be overcome with emotion, noting that the insurrection only came to a swift end “thanks to the Koreans who confronted martial law forces.”
 
“The insurrection met an abrupt end due to the courage and resistance of the people who protected the National Assembly by standing up to martial law troops, not those responsible for the insurrection,” Lee said.
 
The judge became known for his no-nonsense demeanor throughout Han’s trial, demonstrated by his prompt issuance of bench warrants for Cabinet members who failed to appear in court as witnesses and ordering confinement of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun’s legal team for disrupting court proceedings. 

That attitude of zero-tolerance seems to have been reflected in the court’s determination to sentence Han to 23 years in prison — six years more than Roh Tae-woo, a former president of South Korea who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in a military coup.  

“The circumstances of previous insurrection attempts and the Dec. 3 insurrection are different. Previous Supreme Court rulings on insurrection cannot serve as a benchmark for determining the level of punishment for participants in the Dec. 3 insurrection,” Lee said bluntly. 
 
The sentence sought by special counsel Cho Eun-seok and his team for Han was 15 years, but the court departed from that by eight years.
 
Han’s legal team pleaded for leniency, citing Han’s clean criminal record from his 50 years in public office, his old age, mild cognitive impairment, and the fact that he is receiving treatment for depression, but the court ruled that the gravity of the offense demanded a stiff sentence, saying that Han’s responsibility for creating “social conflicts difficult to remedy” outweighed his personal circumstances.
 
The court also reprimanded Han for his lack of sincere contrition, noting that Han originally denied all allegations during initial hearings, only to apologize when CCTV footage of the presidential office during the martial law declaration was revealed later in court.
 
By Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter

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