Former prime minister and the spouse of ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol each indicted on separate costs on the identical day.
Printed On 29 Aug 2025
South Korean prosecutors in separate instances have indicted former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for aiding and abetting former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial legislation final 12 months, and the ex-president’s wife, Kim Keon-hee, for bribery and different costs.
The fees have been laid towards Han, 76, on Friday, in keeping with South Korea’s Yonhap information company. Further costs embody perjury and falsifying official paperwork.
Han had been below investigation by a group of particular prosecutors for a number of weeks, in keeping with media experiences.
Former First Girl Kim was additionally indicted on costs stemming from her alleged participation in a inventory manipulation scheme and acceptance of items from the controversial Unification Church, amongst different actions.
Legal professionals for Kim have denied the allegations towards her and mentioned information experiences about a number of the items she allegedly obtained have been groundless hypothesis.
Assistant particular counsel Park Ji-young informed a televised briefing that Han was the best official who may have blocked Yoon’s try and impose martial legislation.
Park mentioned Han nonetheless performed an “lively” function in Yoon’s martial legislation declaration by attempting to get Yoon’s decree handed by a Cupboard Council assembly as a technique to give “procedural legitimacy” to it.
Han has maintained that he conveyed to Yoon that he opposed his martial legislation plan.
Kim and her ex-president husband have been arrested and are in jail, with Yoon already present process trial on costs that embody rebel for his try and impose army rule.
His spouse had been the topic of quite a few high-profile scandals, some relationship again greater than 15 years, which overshadowed his turbulent presidency and inflicted political injury on him and his conservative Individuals Energy Get together (PPP).
Yoon was formally impeached in April.
Former Prime Minister Han stepped in twice to function appearing president throughout the post-martial legislation chaos between December and Could, however he later resigned to take part in South Korea’s presidential election.
He failed, nevertheless, to safe the candidacy for the PPP.
The June 3 election was later gained by the liberal Democratic Get together’s Lee Jae-myung, who had livestreamed himself climbing over the partitions of South Korea’s Nationwide Meeting to vote down the martial legislation declared by Yoon.
