South Korean prosecutors have indicted former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for supporting ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration last year and former First Lady Kim Keon-hee on bribery and related counts, Al Jazeera reported.
76-year-old former PM Han was indicted on multiple charges, including perjury and falsifying state documents, in addition to his role in aiding Yoon’s martial law plan, Al Jazeera reported, citing Yanhop news agency.
According to media reports, Han had been under scrutiny by a team of special prosecutors for several weeks before the charges were announced.
On the other side, the former first lady Kim Keon-hee was separately indicted on allegations tied to her role in a stock manipulation scheme and accusations that she accepted gifts, including from the controversial Unification Church, as well as other questionable dealings. Her lawyers rejected the allegations, saying that some of the reporting on gifts she supposedly received amounted to unfounded speculation, Al Jazeera reported.
At a televised briefing, assistant special counsel Park Ji-young said Han, as the highest-ranking official in office at the time, had the authority to stop Yoon’s declaration but instead took an “active” part in advancing it. Prosecutors alleged that he tried to push Yoon’s decree through a Cabinet Council meeting in order to provide it with “procedural legitimacy.”
Han has insisted that he informed Yoon of his opposition to the martial law plan.
Both Kim and Yoon have been arrested and remain in custody. The former president is already standing trial on charges that include insurrection over his attempt to impose military rule, Al Jazeera reported.
Kim, meanwhile, has been embroiled in several controversies spanning more than 15 years, scandals that clouded Yoon’s presidency and hurt the image of his conservative People Power Party (PPP).
Yoon was impeached in April.
During the post-martial law turmoil, Han twice assumed the role of acting president between December and May, before stepping down to seek the PPP’s presidential nomination. He ultimately failed to secure the party’s ticket.
The June 3 presidential election was won by the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung, who drew attention after livestreaming himself climbing over the walls of the National Assembly to cast his vote against Yoon’s martial law declaration.
With inputs from ANI
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
