Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrives at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the office of the Special Counsel led by Cho Eun-seok—tasked with investigating the "December 3 Martial Law" insurrection and treason case—is located, on the 22nd. Yonhap News.

Whether former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is accused of aiding and abetting the insurrection committed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, will be detained is expected to be decided as early as the 26th.

Jeong Jae-woo, the senior judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, will conduct the pre-detention interrogation of the suspect (warrant review) for former Prime Minister Han starting at 1:30 p.m. that day.

The Special Counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok, which is investigating the insurrection and treason case related to the December 3 martial law, filed for an arrest warrant for Han on the 24th. The charges include aiding and abetting the ringleaders of the insurrection, perjury, the preparation of false official documents, damage to public documents, violation of the Presidential Archives Management Act, and the uttering of false official documents.

This is the third time an arrest warrant has been requested for a cabinet member in relation to the martial law, following those for former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun and former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min.

As the "first state institution" and deputy chair of the State Council, former Prime Minister Han is accused of failing to prevent and instead aiding in former President Yoon's illegal declaration of martial law last year.

He is also accused of suggesting the convocation of a cabinet meeting prior to the martial law declaration to give the proceedings a "veneer" of procedural legality, and of drafting and subsequently destroying a follow-up proclamation to rectify legal flaws in the initial declaration.

The warrant also cites charges of perjury before the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly, where he claimed he was "unaware of the martial law proclamation."

The Special Counsel team secured relevant evidence by raiding Han's residence and the Prime Minister's official residence on the 24th of last month. He was summoned and questioned three times before and after the raids to verify the allegations.

The warrant request for Han is reportedly 54 pages long, detailing the criminal facts and the necessity of his detention for investigation.

The reasons cited for the warrant include the gravity of the crimes, the risk of evidence destruction and flight, and the potential for recidivism.

The pace of the remaining investigation is expected to depend on the court's judgment regarding the charge of aiding and abetting insurrection against Han.

If the court issues the arrest warrant, it would bolster the Special Counsel's efforts to apply charges of involvement in and aiding the insurrection to the remaining cabinet members. Conversely, if the warrant is dismissed, it could lead to criticisms of excessive charging and would likely necessitate a pause in the investigation.

The possibility of a loss of momentum in investigations into other individuals cannot be ruled out.

Meanwhile, Judge Jeong previously issued an arrest warrant for former Minister Lee Sang-min, who faces charges of "conspiracy to commit insurrection" related to the December 3 martial law, on the 1st of this month after seven hours of deliberation, stating there was "a risk of destruction of evidence."

On the 12th, he also issued an arrest warrant for former First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who has been under investigation for alleged violations of the Capital Markets Act, citing concerns over the destruction of evidence.

Yonhap News