The court ruled that the imposition by former President Yoon Suk Yeol “constituted an act of rebellion,” The Independent noted.

“The Seoul Central District Court found Han guilty because he was considered instrumental in setting up the outward appearance of a cabinet meeting that facilitated the martial law declaration,” NBC News stated.

NBC News explained further:

“The defendant was a Prime Minister who had been indirectly given democratic legitimacy and responsibility… Nevertheless, the defendant chose to turn a blind eye… and participate as a member of the December 3 insurrection,” the judge said.

“As a result of the defendant’s actions, South Korea was in danger of returning to the dark past when the basic rights and liberal democratic order of the people were violated, potentially preventing them from escaping from the quagmire of dictatorship for a long time.”

The lower court also found Han guilty of related charges such as perjury and creating a false official document.

Han had denied wrongdoing for all charges except partial perjury.

The court called Han’s actions a “top-down insurrection.”

More from The Independent:

After the court’s ruling, Han was immediately sent to prison, according to the court. Unlike Yoon, he had not been detained before sentencing. His lengthy sentence came as a surprise as the independent counsel earlier requested 15 years in prison.

Yoon, who has already been in jail for months, faces eight criminal trials including his rebellion case over the martial law decree and other allegations. Last Friday, Yoon received a five-year prison term at the Seoul court for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation and denying some Cabinet members their rights to deliberate on his martial law decree.

Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied the charges of rebellion, saying he only aimed to draw public support of his fight against the main liberal opposition party which obstructed his agenda. Speaking at Friday’s court session, Yoon denounced authorities for their rebellion investigations as “frenzied,” arguing that they involved “manipulation” and “distortion.”

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