Special Counsel for Insurrection Appeals 7-Year Sentence for Former Minister Lee Sang-min, Citing "Misapprehension of Facts and Misinterpretation of Law"

[Financial News] The team of Special Counsel for Insurrection led by Cho Eun-seok has appealed the first-instance ruling that sentenced former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min to seven years in prison.
On the afternoon of the 18th, the special counsel team announced in a press notice, "We have filed an appeal against former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min on the grounds of misapprehension of facts, misinterpretation of law, and an unduly lenient sentence."
Earlier, Criminal Division 32 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Ryu Kyung-jin, found Lee guilty of the charge of engaging in key duties in connection with insurrection. The court held that on December 3, 2024, the day emergency martial law was declared, he received instructions from former President Yoon Suk Yeol to blockade the National Assembly and other key institutions and to cut off power and water to media outlets, and then asked Heo Seok-gon, then head of the National Fire Agency, to cooperate.
The court also convicted Lee of perjury. It ruled that during the Constitutional Court of Korea’s impeachment trial of former President Yoon in February last year, Lee falsely testified that he had neither ordered power and water cuts nor received such instructions from the president.
However, the court acquitted him of the charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, which alleged that by relaying the power and water cutoff orders to then–NFA chief Heo, he compelled Heo to take actions outside his official duties, such as putting in place readiness measures to respond immediately to related police requests. Taking these findings together, the court sentenced Lee to seven years in prison.
At an earlier sentencing hearing held last month, the special counsel team had argued, "This insurrection was a loyalist coup that mobilized the state’s armed organizations, the military and the police, and the defendant’s role in former President Yoon’s coup plan was absolutely critical," and requested a 15-year prison term for Lee. The team appears to have decided to appeal on the view that the sentence imposed was far too light given his culpability.
Lee’s side also appealed the first-instance ruling on the 13th. With both sides having filed appeals, the case is now expected to be reviewed again by the Special Panel for Insurrection Cases to be established at the Seoul High Court on the 23rd.

welcome@fnnews.com Jang Yoo-ha Reporter