South Korea’s former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo faces a high-stakes insurrection trial over his alleged role in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law bid. The Seoul Central District Court announced on Tuesday that the trial kicks off on September 30, with hearings every Monday to keep things moving fast.
Han Duck-soo got indicted last month by a special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk. Prosecutors accuse him of helping Yoon impose martial law on December 3, 2024, plus charges like perjury, faking official documents, and destroying evidence. The drama centers on that chaotic day when Yoon called a sudden Cabinet meeting—supposedly at Han’s urging—at the presidential office.
The first hearing will dive into key surveillance footage from that office. It reportedly shows Han Duck-soo grabbing printed copies of the martial law decree and Yoon’s speech from the meeting room. He even counts on his fingers to check if enough Cabinet members were there for a quorum, then chats with then-Interior Minister Lee Sang-min afterward. Prosecutors say Han later drafted a tweaked version of the decree to make it look more legit, only to shred it later.
On top of that, Han faces perjury charges for lying under oath. He told the Constitutional Court and National Assembly he had no idea Yoon slipped him a copy of the martial law plan until after it all fell apart—but evidence suggests otherwise.
Han skipped Tuesday’s pretrial hearing since it wasn’t mandatory. This case ties into the bigger Yoon Suk Yeol martial law scandal, where the president’s emergency power grab lasted just hours before lawmakers shut it down. Stay tuned as the South Korea insurrection trial unfolds, revealing more about the political turmoil that rocked the nation.
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