Blue House Says It Has "Nothing in Particular to Say" on Yoon Suk Yeol's Life Sentence in First Trial

Kim Namjun, Blue House Spokesperson, Yonhap News Agency

The Blue House said on the 19th that it had "nothing in particular to say" regarding the first-trial sentence of life imprisonment handed down to former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Kim Namjun, Blue House spokesperson, gave this answer during an afternoon briefing at the Chunchugwan press center when asked whether there was any position on the first-trial ruling for former President Yoon, or any reaction from President Lee Jaemyung.

The 25th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ji Gwiyeon) sentenced former President Yoon to life imprisonment that day on charges including leading an insurrection. Previously, on the 13th of last month, Cho Eunseok, special prosecutor for the insurrection case, had requested the death penalty for former President Yoon during the final hearing.

The court defined the December 3 Martial Law as an insurrection and found that former President Yoon's actions met the requirements for the crime of insurrection, namely the "purpose of disrupting the constitutional order" and "rebellious violence." The court stated, "Under our Constitution and the Martial Law Act, even a state of emergency martial law cannot infringe upon the powers of the National Assembly or the essential functions of the executive and judiciary," adding, "Mobilizing the military for this purpose does not constitute an exercise of powers granted by the Constitution, but clearly falls under the crime of insurrection."

Meanwhile, spokesperson Kim was asked whether President Lee would grant approval this week to the appointment of the second special prosecutor, who will investigate additional allegations related to the three special investigations (insurrection, Kim Keonhee, and Sergeant Chae), and replied, "As this concerns personnel matters, it is difficult for me to comment further."