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Special counsel seeks 15-year sentence for former interior minister in appellate trial

Published: 22 Apr. 2026, 18:21

Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, center, attends his trial on charges of playing a key role in the martial law imposition at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Feb. 12. [YONHAP]

A special counsel team on Wednesday sought a 15-year prison term for former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min in an appellate trial over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.

Lee is charged with playing a key role in an insurrection by giving orders to cut off water and power to media outlets critical of the Yoon administration after the then-president declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. He has also been indicted on charges of giving false testimony during Yoon's impeachment trial last year.

In February, a lower court found him guilty of both charges and sentenced him to seven years in prison.

"He took part in a crime that destroyed the constitutional order," a member of special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team said during the final trial hearing at the Seoul High Court. "The only reason power and water were not cut off was that the emergency martial law order was swiftly lifted as a result of citizens' resistance, and the military and police's half-hearted fulfillment of duties."

Cho's team had also requested a 15-year prison term at the initial trial.

Yonhap