SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korean former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's legal team appealed to the Supreme Court on Monday after an appellate court reduced his prison sentence to 15 years for aiding the insurrection of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, local media reported.
The Seoul High Court last Thursday overturned the lower court's ruling and commuted Han's sentence from 23 years to 15 years in prison.
Han was convicted of aiding and abetting Yoon's insurrection linked to the former president's short-lived martial law declaration in December 2024. The court said that Han abandoned his grave responsibility as the second-in-command and joined the insurrection, stressing that his guilt was grave.
Following the second-instance ruling, Han's legal team said it would immediately file an appeal with the Supreme Court, arguing that the appellate court still misinterpreted key facts and legal principles in the case.
Meanwhile, the independent counsel leading the insurrection investigation had sought a 23-year prison term for Han during the appeal trial, insisting that his role in the alleged insurrection was serious.
The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.
The former premier was also accused of signing and then discarding a backdated martial law proclamation as well as giving false testimony during Yoon's impeachment trial at the constitutional court.
Han was indicted without detention in August 2025 and was taken into custody in the courtroom following the lower court's verdict in January. ■
