Ex-interior minister sentenced to 7 years in prison for playing key role in Yoon Suk Yeol's 'insurrection'

The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min to seven years in prison, finding him guilty of aiding ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s 2024 martial law decree, which the court again characterized as an act of insurrection.

“The court finds that the defendant played a key role in the insurrection led by Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Yong-hyun by receiving key documents and relaying them to fire authorities,” Judge Ryu Kyung-jin ruled.

The special counsel investigating Yoon’s alleged insurrection had sought a 15-year prison term for Lee on charges of performing critical duties in an insurrection, abuse of power and perjury.

Lee’s conviction marks the second time a court has formally defined Yoon’s martial law declaration as an insurrection, following the sentencing of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison in January.

The court acquitted Lee of the abuse of power charge, but found him guilty of aiding the insurrection and lying under oath.

The ruling upheld the special counsel’s claim that Lee received and conveyed orders from Yoon to cut electricity and water supplies to several media outlets, including Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang Shinmun, MBC and JTBC, which Yoon had accused of being critical of his administration.

Lee denied the allegations. However, former National Fire Agency Commissioner Heo Suk-gon testified in November that Lee had called him, stating that police forces would be dispatched to certain media organizations and instructing him to “perform certain acts.”

The court determined that Lee’s actions constituted active participation in the insurrection, emphasizing that a defendant need not be involved in or fully aware of the entire scheme to be held criminally liable.

The court also noted that given Lee’s legal background he was likely aware that the martial law decree was unlawful and unconstitutional. Before becoming interior minister, Lee served as a judge, an attorney and a professor of law.

Lee was additionally found guilty of perjury for statements made during Yoon’s 2025 impeachment trial, where he testified that Yoon had not ordered him to cut utilities to media outlets.

The special counsel immediately expressed regret over the sentence.

“The sentencing itself is regrettable. We will closely review the ruling and decide whether to appeal,” special counsel assistant Jang Woo-seong told reporters.

Meanwhile, Yoon’s sentencing on charges of leading an insurrection is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Feb. 19. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Legal observers say the court’s repeated recognition of Yoon’s martial law declaration as an insurrection could be a factor in the outcome of Yoon’s trial, especially as the special counsel has submitted Han's verdict as evidence.