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Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for ex-Prime Minister Han

Published: 24 Aug. 2025, 18:26

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo leaves the special counsel’s office at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 2 after being questioned on the Dec. 3 martial law imposition. [NEWS1]

The special counsel investigating the Dec. 3 martial law case requested an arrest warrant Sunday for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on charges of aiding insurrection. Han, once the second-highest official in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and acting president after Yoon’s impeachment, is accused of betraying his constitutional duty by backing Yoon’s declaration of emergency rule.

Prosecutors said Han actively participated from the outset. They cited his proposal to convene a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 3, 2023, just before Yoon’s martial law declaration, and his later role in drafting and signing a “post-facto” proclamation intended to give the move a veneer of legality. When then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was arrested, Han allegedly instructed aides to destroy the document.

The special counsel charged Han with aiding insurrection, falsifying and destroying official documents, violating the Presidential Records Act and perjury. Investigators said that as prime minister and deputy chair of the Cabinet, he had the authority and duty to block an unconstitutional decree but instead enabled it. They said his long public service, dating back to the 1970s and through the 1980 coup era, meant he knew the gravity of such acts.

The probe has also focused on contradictions in Han’s testimony. During questioning last week, he admitted receiving the proclamation directly from Yoon, reversing earlier statements that he only discovered it afterward. That admission clashes with his testimony before the Constitutional Court during Yoon’s impeachment trial, where he claimed he had never seen the document.

If the court approves the warrant, Han would become the first former prime minister in Korean history to go behind bars. The special counsel argues detention is unavoidable given the seriousness of the charges and the risk of evidence tampering.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM BO-REUM, NA UN-CHAE [[email protected]]