The appeal trial for former President Yoon Suk-yeol's insurrection leadership case has been assigned to Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul High Court. This comes 13 days after the first-instance verdict was delivered on February 19.
According to legal sources on March 4, the Seoul High Court announced that it has assigned the insurrection leadership case involving former President Yoon to Criminal Division 12-1, presided over by Judge Lee Seung-chul with Judge Cho Jin-gu as the presiding judge. Seven key military and police figures, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho, who face charges of performing important duties in an insurrection, will also be tried by the same court.
Criminal Division 12 of the Seoul High Court, comprising Judges Lee Seung-chul, Cho Jin-gu, and Kim Min-ah, is a designated insurrection court along with Criminal Division 1, led by Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik with Judges Min Sung-chul and Lee Dong-hyun. The two divisions operate as co-equal courts with rotating presiding judges. Division 12 is also handling the case of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence in the first trial on charges of performing important duties in an insurrection.
Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of inciting a riot aimed at disrupting the constitutional order by declaring an unconstitutional and illegal martial law on December 3, 2024. The first-instance court ruled on February 19 that the emergency martial law constituted insurrection under criminal law and found former President Yoon guilty. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.