Former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo's First Trial Begins on Charges of Aiding Insurrection... Responds "Unemployed" When Asked About Occupation

Remains Silent to Reporters Upon Court Appearance
Court Broadcasts First Trial; Proceedings to Be Released Online
CCTV Evidence Review from Martial Law Day Excluded from Broadcast

The first trial of former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo, who has been indicted on charges of aiding and abetting former President Yoon Sukyeol’s insurrection, began on September 30.

Yonhap News

The 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jinkwan) held the initial hearing at 10:00 a.m. for the case against former Prime Minister Han, who has been charged with aiding and abetting the leader of an insurrection, among other offenses.

Appearing in court on this day, former Prime Minister Han did not respond to reporters’ questions such as, "How do you plan to explain the allegation that you failed to fulfill your constitutional duty to prevent the insurrection?" and "Do you still maintain that you never received any documents related to martial law?"

Once in the courtroom and seated at the defendant’s table, former Prime Minister Han stated, "I am unemployed," when asked about his occupation during the identification process. When asked about a jury trial, he replied, "I do not wish to have one."

With the court’s approval, the entire trial proceedings from start to finish are being broadcast. The court will release the video on the internet after anonymizing personal information. Previously, on September 26, the first hearing for former President Yoon’s case involving obstruction of special official duties was also broadcast.

However, at the request of Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok’s insurrection investigation team, the evidentiary review regarding the presidential office CCTV footage from the day of the December 3 Martial Law, which was scheduled for the first trial, was excluded from the broadcast. The CCTV reportedly shows former Prime Minister Han collecting martial law documents and a public statement from the cabinet meeting venue on the day martial law was declared. It is also said to show Han counting on his fingers to confirm whether there was a quorum for the cabinet meeting with former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun. The location where this footage was recorded is designated as a military security zone.

On August 29, the special prosecutor’s team indicted former Prime Minister Han without detention on charges including aiding and abetting the leader of an insurrection, perjury, falsification of official documents, damage to official documents, violation of the Presidential Records Management Act, and use of false official documents.

The special prosecutor’s team believes that, as the Prime Minister-who is the "first national institution" and Vice Chair of the Cabinet-Han failed to prevent and instead aided former President Yoon’s illegal declaration of martial law last year.

Han is also accused of proposing to convene a cabinet meeting prior to the declaration of martial law in order to give the appearance of procedural legitimacy, and of drafting and discarding a subsequent declaration to address legal flaws in the initial martial law proclamation. The indictment also includes the charge that Han committed perjury at the Constitutional Court by claiming he was unaware of the martial law declaration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.