Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn makes his stance known. Yonhap News. 

It is reported that a petition from the United States was delivered during the process of Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party, being released after his arrest warrant for charges of inciting rebellion was dismissed.

Bart Marcois, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy, released a 'Petition for the Immediate Release of Hwang Kyo-ahn' on X (formerly Twitter) on the 12th (Wednesday) and urged others to participate.

The petition states, "I urge the immediate release of Hwang Kyo-ahn, former Prime Minister and leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party, who was unjustly arrested on November 12, 2025, and is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Center."

It further reads, "Mr. Hwang is accused of conspiracy to commit rebellion, based on two Facebook posts expressing his concerns about the constitutional order and election integrity. Such statements constitute an exercise of freedom of speech. Criminal punishment for peaceful expression as 'conspiracy to rebel' undermines the foundations of democracy and the rule of law."

The petition then made four demands:

1. Immediate release of Hwang Kyo-ahn

2. Immediate release of three detained supporters

3. Cessation of politically motivated prosecutions

4. Protection of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, and due process in South Korea

Min Kyung-wook, a former member of the National Assembly, stated on Facebook on the 13th that "lawyers Park Joo-hyun and others presented a petition drafted by Ambassador Mostan and former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Bart Marcois, arguing that the detention was unjust," and also released the full text of Ambassador Tan's petition.

In another Facebook post, Min also relayed that Ambassador Mostan said, "I am delighted to share the news of Prime Minister Hwang's release thanks to the excellent defense by lawyer Park Joo-hyun!" and added, "At the request of lawyer Park, I also wrote a petition and signed another, but she argued for an incredible four and a half hours. Hallelujah!"

A total of eight lawyers, including Park Kyung-ho, Yoon Yong-jin, Kwon Oh-yong, Kim Ji-mi, and Park Joo-hyun, represented Mr. Hwang during the arrest warrant hearing that day.

Previously, the Constitutional Court did not rule on whether the crime of rebellion under the Criminal Act was established in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol. Furthermore, the National Assembly, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, omitted the charges of rebellion altogether from the impeachment trial.

In a situation where rebellion was not even established, the special prosecutor presented a sophistry, claiming that statements made after the declaration of martial law constituted incitement to rebellion, and was met with strong logical resistance.

Lawyer Kim Ji-mi pointed out in a Facebook post that the special prosecutor was not only "concluding the declaration of martial law as rebellion but also attempting to frame actions taken afterward as conspiracy and incitement to rebellion, which is nothing more than insisting on the impossible both narratively and logically."

NNP = Chief Reporter Hong Sung-goo / Special Contribution by this Newspaper NNP info@newsandpost.com