(Adnkronos) – A Seoul court rejected the Prosecutor’s Office’s request for an arrest warrant against former Prime Minister Han Duck Soo in connection with his involvement in the failed martial law declared at the end of 2024 by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, which plunged South Korea into the biggest political crisis in its recent history. The Seoul Central District Court, after questioning Han, rejected the special prosecutor team’s request for an arrest warrant, arguing that “there is room for legal dispute regarding the key facts and the suspect’s overall actions,” as reported by the Yonhap news agency. The presiding judge added that, “considering the suspect’s situation,” it is difficult to foresee a “risk of destruction of evidence” and “a risk of flight.”
Han, who temporarily assumed the presidency between March 24 and May 1 of this year, will have to answer six charges, including aiding a rebel leader, falsifying official documents and perjury. “The prime minister is the main state institution that contributes to the duty of protecting the Constitution,” the Prosecutor’s Office stressed, believing that Han did not fulfill his fundamental functions, even in the absence of explicit provisions in the Constitution, “in the duty to control the abuse of power by the president.”
