Seoul: A court held a hearing Wednesday on whether to issue a warrant to arrest former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched imposition of martial law. The Seoul Central District Court concluded the hearing at approximately 4:55 p.m., after special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the warrant on charges of abetting the ringleader of an insurrection, falsifying and destroying official documents, perjury, and other offenses. A decision could come as early as later Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Han arrived at the court shortly before the hearing and entered the building without answering reporters' questions. Should the court issue the warrant, Han will become the third Cabinet member of the Yoon administration to be arrested in connection with the martial law attempt in December. The others are former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.
Han is accused of abetting Yoon's imposition of martial law by proposing a Cabinet meeting before the decree's declaration. He is also suspected of drafting and later destroying a revised proclamation intended to enhance the legitimacy of the decree. Moreover, he is accused of lying under oath at the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly, alleging that he was not aware Yoon had given him a copy of the martial law declaration until after the decree was lifted.