Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, center, attends his trial on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Seoul Central District Court
Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has appealed a court ruling sentencing him to seven years in prison for playing a key role in an insurrection in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched bid to impose martial law, according to legal sources Saturday.
Lee's lawyers filed the appeal the previous day, two days after the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of involvement in Yoon's failed attempt on Dec. 3, 2024, and perjuring himself during the former president's impeachment trial last year.
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team had demanded a 15-year prison term for Lee, accusing him of making instructions to cut off power and water to media outlets critical of the then administration on the night of Yoon's martial law declaration.
Lee is the second member of the former president's Cabinet to be convicted over the emergency order after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo received a 23-year prison sentence last month for his role in the short-lived attempt.
Source: Korea Times News
