South Korea special prosecutor seeks 15-year jail term for ex-PM Han on martial law charges

By Joyce Lee

South Korea's special prosecutor on Wednesday sought a 15-year jail term for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on allegations he abetted ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched bid to impose martial law last December.

Han is expected to be the first former cabinet member to be handed a ruling by a lower court on criminal charges related to martial law and his case may set the tone for Yoon's current trial and other rulings that are expected to follow. A ruling in Han's case is likely to occur early next year.

"We believe severe punishment of the defendant (Han) is inevitable to prevent such an unfortunate history from being repeated," one of the prosecutors said on Wednesday.

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Han has been charged with aiding and abetting Yoon's role as a "ringleader of an insurrection" that declared an illegal emergency martial law. According to the charge, Han was obliged to check the president's arbitrary abuse of authority as prime minister, the "second-in-command in state affairs."

Han has denied the charges, except perjury, saying he had "no knowledge of the overall plan (of martial law) and opposed it in the presidential office because it would cause significant problems for the economy and external credibility."

Han, 76, is an experienced technocrat who served in senior posts under five presidents. He became acting president after Yoon was impeached, before he too was impeached over accusations that he had aided Yoon in the martial law declaration.

The Constitutional Court overturned Han's impeachment, restoring his powers to serve as leader before he resigned from the post to run in a snap election in June. He ended his bid for the presidency following rifts among conservatives.

Yoon, who is undergoing a separate trial on charges that include acting as a "ringleader of an insurrection", faces the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty.

South Korea has not carried out a death penalty since 1997.