Former South Korean Interior Minister Sentenced to Seven Years Over Role in 2024 Martial Law Decree

BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA

A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced South Korea’s former interior minister, Lee Sang-min, to seven years in prison for his role in carrying out former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law in 2024, marking another major conviction stemming from one of the country’s most turbulent political crises in decades.

The ruling comes just one week before the same court is expected to issue a separate and closely watched decision on whether Yoon’s actions constituted rebellion — a charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty. Prosecutors have asked the court to impose capital punishment if Yoon is convicted on that count.

Lee, who previously headed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, was found guilty of aiding and abetting the enforcement of the martial law order. The court concluded that he played a key operational role in transmitting presidential directives to senior police and fire officials, including instructions to cut water and electricity supplies to several news organizations critical of Yoon’s administration.

Those directives were never implemented. Martial law was lifted within hours after opposition lawmakers forced their way through a military and police cordon at the National Assembly and unanimously voted to revoke the decree, effectively nullifying the president’s order.

In delivering the verdict, Judge Ryu Kyung-jin said that witness testimony, security camera footage and other documentary evidence demonstrated that Lee took concrete steps to execute Yoon’s instructions. The judge described Lee’s involvement as significant and said the evidence left little doubt that he attempted to enforce the extraordinary measures announced by the president.

However, the court acquitted Lee of separate charges of abuse of power, citing insufficient evidence to meet the legal threshold for conviction on those counts.

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term, arguing that Lee’s actions represented a grave breach of constitutional order and an attempt to suppress press freedom during a moment of national crisis. The court ultimately imposed a seven-year sentence, a decision that places Lee among the most senior officials convicted in connection with the decree.

Lee denied the allegations throughout the proceedings. He disputed testimony from other officials, including former National Fire Agency Commissioner General Heo Seok-gon, who told the court that Lee had relayed instructions by telephone to cut utilities to targeted media outlets. Lee maintained that he neither received nor passed along such orders and denied participating in any planning or conspiracy related to the martial law declaration.

After the sentence was handed down, Lee smiled faintly but did not speak to reporters. His legal team did not immediately confirm whether he would file an appeal.

The case forms part of a broader reckoning within South Korea’s political leadership following Yoon’s controversial decision to declare martial law in 2024. The move, which the former president described as a necessary response to what he called “anti-state” forces among liberal lawmakers obstructing his agenda, triggered widespread public outrage and a constitutional showdown.

Critics accused Yoon of attempting to subvert democratic governance by using emergency powers to sideline political opponents and intimidate dissenting voices in the media. Supporters argued that he acted within his authority during a period of political paralysis.

The crisis reached its climax when opposition lawmakers, despite military and police blockades, entered the National Assembly chamber and voted unanimously to lift martial law. The swift reversal curtailed what could have become a prolonged suspension of civilian rule.

Lee is the second member of Yoon’s Cabinet to be convicted over the episode. Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced earlier to 23 years in prison in connection with the same events, though he has appealed his conviction.

Yoon himself was removed from office following impeachment proceedings and has been in custody since July. He faces multiple criminal charges, with the rebellion accusation representing the most severe. Under South Korean law, rebellion is among the gravest offenses against the state and can carry the death penalty, though executions have not been carried out in the country for decades.

Legal analysts say the court’s decision in Lee’s case may signal how judges are interpreting the chain of command and responsibility within the former administration. By convicting Lee of aiding the enforcement of martial law while acquitting him of abuse of power, the court drew a distinction between direct participation in implementing the decree and broader allegations of misconduct.

As the judiciary continues to weigh the legal consequences of the 2024 crisis, the outcome of Yoon’s pending ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for South Korea’s political landscape. The proceedings have tested the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions and underscored deep divisions between conservative and liberal forces in a nation that has experienced military rule within living memory.

For now, Lee’s sentence stands as another milestone in a series of high-profile trials that are reshaping the legacy of a presidency brought down by its own extraordinary assertion of power.