Special Prosecutor seeks 5-year prison term for Han Duck-soo over failure to appoint Constitutional Court justices, saying it aimed to block Yoon's impeachment

[Financial News] The special prosecution team investigating the insurrection case, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, requested a five-year prison sentence for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was indicted on charges including dereliction of duty over the failure to appoint justices to the Constitutional Court of Korea. The special prosecutor argued that Han obstructed the court's proper formation in an effort to block the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
At the sentencing hearing on the 28th, held before Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan, the special prosecution asked the court to sentence Han to five years in prison.
For the co-indicted former presidential chief of staff Jeong Jin-seok and former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs Kim Joo-hyun, the team sought four years each. It also requested a three-year sentence for former secretary to the president for public office discipline Lee Won-mo.
The special prosecutor said Han "obstructed the proper formation of the Constitutional Court of Korea in order to block the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, former Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Jo Ji-ho, and others, while trying to preserve their vested interests and their power as acting president."
It added that he "preemptively and ultimately refused to appoint justices lawfully elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, using the excuse of an alleged lack of bipartisan agreement that has no basis in the Constitution or any law."
The special prosecutor said the failure to make the appointments delayed the normal functioning of constitutional institutions, even after the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that the omission was unconstitutional. It also pointed out that after Yoon was removed from office, Han changed his stance and tried to directly nominate two justices for the presidential quota.
Regarding former chief of staff Jeong, the team stressed that he joined a meeting among the ruling party, the government and the presidential office immediately after the December 3 Martial Law declaration, helped build a defense line against impeachment, and blocked the submission of an electronic official document for the appointment of Constitutional Court justices in December 2024, when Choi Sang-mok was acting president.
As for former senior secretary Kim, the special prosecutor said that after Yoon's removal from office, he followed Han's instructions to recommend former Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and Seoul High Court Presiding Judge Hahm Sang-hoon as candidates for Constitutional Court justices, and effectively preselected them through prior contact.
In the case of former secretary Lee, the team criticized him for instructing staff to complete background checks on the candidates within a single day and for skipping some of the normal verification procedures in the process.
Han and the others were brought to trial on charges of obstructing the formation of the Constitutional Court of Korea by refusing to appoint justices elected by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea in December 2024, when the acting presidential system was in place and Yoon's impeachment trial was approaching, citing a lack of bipartisan agreement.
 



[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter