South Korea’s
highest court on Thursday upheld a ruling against former lawmaker Lee Seok Ki
from a now-disbanded leftist party, the Unified Progressive Party, for intentions to incite an armed rebellion and breaching the National Security Law, sentencing him to
nine years in prison.
However, the Supreme Court also upheld an acquittal from a lower court on charges against Lee for conspiracy.
The court upheld prison sentences, ranging from three to five years, for six other UPP members, maintaining that the
defendants expected war to break out and gathered to incite actual measures– such as destroying state infrastructure–to carry out a revolution in South Korea, but said there is not
enough evidence to prove they had plotted or prepared for an actual rebellion,
and therefore the acquittal of conspiracy must be upheld.
The Suwon District Court first sentenced
Lee to 12 years for conspiring and attempting to instigate a rebellion earlier last year, but
in an appeal, the Seoul High Court acquitted him on conspiracy charges,
reducing the sentence to nine years.
