'Abetting Rebellion Leader' Han Duck-soo's First Full Trial on the 30th... Swift Proceedings Once a Week

First preparatory hearing held to establish schedule... Presidential Office CCTV footage on the day of martial law to be investigated as evidence

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo appears as a witness for the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor investigation (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Dong-hae = Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, suspected of receiving money and favors and seeking personnel appointments related to Seo Hee Construction, is appearing at the special prosecutor's office investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, located in the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 9th. 2025.9.9 eastsea@yna.co.kr

The trial for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, accused of abetting a rebellion leader, will proceed once a week starting on the 30th. The court has indicated its intent for swift proceedings.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-kwan) held the first preparatory hearing on the 16th for the case of former Prime Minister Han, who was indicted on charges including abetting a rebellion leader.

A preparatory hearing is a procedure held before a formal trial to confirm the positions of the defendant and the prosecution and to plan evidence investigation; the defendant is not obligated to attend. Former Prime Minister Han did not appear in court on this day.

"The special prosecutor law has provisions regarding swift trials, and there must be a reason for the National Assembly to enact a special law," the court stated. "The court also intends to proceed as swiftly as possible in accordance with that."

The court has decided to hold the first public hearing on the 30th and proceed with trials every Monday thereafter.

The first public hearing is scheduled to include an investigation of the Presidential Office's closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the day of the 12·3 martial law declaration.

The CCTV is reported to show former Prime Minister Han taking papers, including the martial law document and the public address, from the State Council meeting venue on the day of the martial law declaration.

It is also reported to show former Prime Minister Han counting fingers with former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun to check if the quorum for the State Council meeting was met, and discussing documents with former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min after the meeting.

As the location where the CCTV was filmed is designated as a military secret protection zone, the evidence investigation will be conducted in private.

The special prosecutor's team for the rebellion indicted former Prime Minister Han without detention on August 29th on charges of abetting a rebellion leader, perjury, forging and using official documents, damaging public documents, and violating the Presidential Records Management Act.

The special prosecutor's team believes that former Prime Minister Han, as the Prime Minister and the 'second-in-command' in state affairs, had a duty to check the President's arbitrary abuse of power but failed to prevent the illegal declaration of martial law and abetted it.

Charges were also applied for allegedly drafting and destroying a subsequent declaration to supplement the legal flaws of the initial martial law declaration, and for allegedly testifying in the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of former President Yoon, stating that he was unaware of the martial law declaration.