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Ex-Interior Minister Lee Sang-min gets 7 years for role in insurrection

Published: 12 Feb. 2026, 18:27 Updated: 12 Feb. 2026, 19:23

Former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, back, is seen at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 17, 2025. [NEWS1]

Former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday for participating in what the court ruled was an insurrection tied to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of emergency martial law.

The Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of carrying out key duties in the insurrection, citing his role in instructing the National Fire Agency to cooperate in cutting off electricity and water to certain media outlets.

“Although Lee bore a constitutional duty to protect the Constitution and laws and to strive to realize them, he participated in an act of insurrection by instructing the National Fire Agency to cooperate in cutting off electricity and water to media outlets,” the court said in its ruling. “His culpability is not light.”

The court defined the martial law declaration as an act of insurrection and Yoon and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun as an insurrectionist group. It concluded that Lee took part in the group.

The court first recognized the crime of insurrection by Yoon, which served as the premise for the charge against Lee.

“Yoon and Kim attempted to physically block the National Assembly and the headquarters of the then-main opposition Democratic Party to paralyze their functions,” the court said. “They also sought to conduct a warrantless raid of the National Election Commission.”

“These acts were carried out with the intent to disrupt the constitutional order and render the National Assembly incapable of exercising its authority under the Constitution,” the court added.

Former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, center, stands at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 12. [NEWS1]

The court further acknowledged the existence of a document concerning power and water cuts to media outlets.

“We judge that Lee received the document from Yoon and was instructed to carry it out,” the court said. “It is reasonable to conclude that Lee issued specific work instructions to the National Fire Agency and related bodies.”

CCTV from the presidential office on the day of the martial law declaration was also cited as evidence. In the footage, Lee is seen taking out a document from the inside pocket of the suit jacket and reading it in a reception room at the presidential office in Yongsan District, from 9:48 p.m. to 9:51 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2024.

Testimony by former National Fire Agency Commissioner Heo Seok-gon also served as key evidence. Heo testified that he received instructions from Lee to cut off electricity and water to certain media outlets.

Former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, center, enters the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 17, 2025. [NEWS1]

At a hearing on Nov. 17 of last year, when asked whether there had been a request for power and water cuts, Heo said that Lee had “quickly mentioned several media outlets.”

Heo later clarified during the special counsel investigation that the instruction did not come from the police.

However, the court found Lee not guilty of the charge of abuse of power by forcing National Fire Agency officials to perform unrelated tasks with the power and water cuts. Prosecutors argued that Lee forced fire officials to carry out duties they were not obligated to perform with such cuts, but the court deemed the presented evidence insufficient.

While Lee possessed general authority to command the National Fire Agency, the court found it difficult to believe that frontline fire stations were prepared to immediately respond to police requests regarding the utility cuts. It also said it was difficult to conclude that Heo had instructed the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters to cooperate.

People watch a news broadcast of the court hearing for former Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min at Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Feb. 12. [YONHAP]

The court also found Lee guilty of perjury during Yoon’s impeachment trial on Feb. 11, when he appeared as a witness in the Constitutional Court.

“I never ordered power or water cuts, and I never received such instructions from the president,” Lee said, for which he was later indicted for perjury.

“As a legal professional, Lee would have fully understood the meaning of 'insurrection,'” the court said. “Even by common sense, he would have known that Yoon’s declaration of martial law was unconstitutional and illegal.”

“There is no evidence that he tried to dissuade Yoon despite this,” the court said. “Instead of taking appropriate responsibility afterward, Lee even committed perjury. This increases the degree of culpability.”

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 [[email protected]]