To Be Released Online After De-Identification Measures
CCTV Evidence Examination Excluded from Broadcast at Special Prosecutor's Request
The court has decided to broadcast the first trial of former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo, who has been indicted on charges of aiding and abetting the insurrection committed by former President Yoon Sukyeol.
Han Ducksoo, former Prime Minister, who is accused of aiding and abetting rebellion related to the emergency martial law on December 3, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 27th. This is the first time in constitutional history that an arrest warrant has been requested for a former prime minister. 2025.08.27 Photo by Yoon Dongjoo
On September 29, the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jinkwan), which is handling Han’s case, allowed the broadcast of the first hearing scheduled for September 30, in which Han will stand trial on charges including aiding and abetting the leader of the rebellion and perjury.
The court explained that the broadcast will be made available online and through other channels, with the video footage from the hearing being anonymized by removing audio and applying mosaics as necessary.
However, at the request of Cho Eonseok’s special prosecution team for the insurrection case, the evidentiary review of the presidential office CCTV footage from the day of the December 3 emergency martial law, which will take place during the first hearing, will be excluded from the broadcast. Reportedly, the CCTV footage shows Han Ducksoo on the day of martial law taking documents such as the martial law papers and a public statement from the Cabinet meeting venue. It is also said to show Han counting on his fingers to confirm the quorum for the Cabinet meeting with former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun. The location where the footage was recorded has been designated as a military secret protection zone.
Additionally, the court has approved requests from media outlets to film in the courtroom for this case. According to Supreme Court regulations regarding courtroom attendance and filming, media filming is permitted only before the start of the hearing, and filming from the judge’s bench is prohibited.
Previously, on September 26, the special prosecution team applied for the broadcast of Han’s first hearing. According to Article 11, Paragraph 4 of the Special Prosecution Act on Insurrection, the presiding judge must allow broadcasting unless there are special circumstances, if requested by either the special prosecutor or the defendant.
The court appears to have granted the broadcast considering this provision and the public interest in the case. The 35th Criminal Division of the same court (Presiding Judge Paek Daehyun) also allowed the broadcast of the first hearing on September 26 for the case in which former President Yoon is charged with obstruction of special official duties and other offenses.
Cho Eonseok’s special prosecution team indicted Han Ducksoo without detention on August 29 on charges including aiding and abetting the leader of the rebellion, perjury, falsification of official documents, damage to public documents, violation of the Presidential Records Management Act, and use of falsified official documents.
The special prosecution team believes that Han, as Prime Minister-the “No. 1 state institution” and vice chair of the Cabinet-failed to prevent and instead abetted former President Yoon Sukyeol’s illegal declaration of emergency martial law last year.
He is also accused of recommending the convening of a Cabinet meeting before the declaration of martial law to give the process a veneer of procedural legitimacy, and of drafting and discarding a subsequent proclamation to remedy legal defects in the initial martial law announcement. The indictment also includes charges of perjury before the Constitutional Court, where Han claimed he was unaware of the martial law proclamation.
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