Han Deok-su: "If the Constitutional Court Does Not Make a Convincing Ruling, It Will Cause National Division"

"Cabinet Meeting Before Martial Law Declaration Was Abnormal"
"Any Cabinet Members in Agreement?... Never Heard of It"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speaking at the 3rd hearing of the 'Special Committee on the National Investigation into the Charges of Insurrection through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration' held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on the 6th, "If the Constitutional Court does not make a ruling that the people can accept, I am truly very worried about the national division and division of opinions, even though my duties as Prime Minister are suspended."

On the same day, Han appeared at the 3rd hearing of the 'Special Committee on the National Investigation into the Charges of Insurrection through the Declaration of Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government' held at the National Assembly, stating, "The Constitutional Court's ruling must be truly fair and must conform to procedural legitimacy and common sense."

Han said that the Cabinet meeting held just before President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of martial law was not normal.

In response to a question from Bu Seung-chan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "Was there effectively no Cabinet meeting related to the declaration of martial law?" Han replied, "It is hardly possible to consider it a formal Cabinet meeting."

Han added, "From my long experience working in the government, I think so," and said, "We share the view that it did not proceed as a formal Cabinet meeting."

In particular, Han said that other Cabinet members who attended the meeting at the time also opposed the martial law.

Kim Yong-hyun, former Minister of National Defense, who is considered a key instigator of the martial law, answered "There were people who agreed" to the National Assembly's legal team’s question during the Constitutional Court impeachment trial on the 23rd of last month, asking, "Were there any people who agreed to the martial law during the Cabinet meeting?"

However, Han said on the same day in response to fact-checking questions about Kim's claim, "I have never heard of even one person." Han explained, "Everyone opposed it, worried about it, raised the issue with the President, and came out worried together."