Charged with performing key duties in insurrection, among other counts; special prosecutor sought 20 years; court hands down 25-year term

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, indicted on charges of participating in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law and intervening in an investigation at the request of Kim Keon Hee, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu for his first-instance sentencing hearing on Monday. [Yonhap]
Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, indicted on charges of participating in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law and intervening in an investigation at the request of Kim Keon Hee, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu for his first-instance sentencing hearing on Monday. [Yonhap]

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae was sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday in the first-instance ruling on his role in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law — a heavier sentence than the 20 years sought by the insurrection special prosecutor's team led by Special Prosecutor Jo Eun-seok. The court ordered Park detained in the courtroom immediately after delivering the verdict.

Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-gwan, handed down the 25-year sentence on charges including performing key duties in an insurrection and abuse of authority. Park protested the detention order moments after the ruling, saying he had "never once refused to appear in court or attempted to flee," but the court cited a risk of evidence destruction and took him into custody on the spot.

The court said Park had "ultimately turned away from his duty to uphold the Constitution, believing the insurrection could succeed," and that he had "instead chosen to join it."

The panel added that Park had known the emergency martial law declaration was unlawful and aimed at subverting the constitutional order, and that he had known it was an attempt to neutralize the National Assembly. The court went on to say that despite holding a position as justice minister that demanded he defend the constitutional order and democracy more than anyone, Park had cooperated with an emergency martial law declaration that abused state power for private ends.

Park is accused of convening an emergency meeting of senior Justice Ministry officials immediately after the martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, and ordering them to place an emergency travel-ban team on standby, secure space in correctional facilities, and review the dispatch of prosecutors to a joint investigation headquarters. He also faces charges of receiving an inquiry from Kim Keon Hee regarding an investigation into a luxury handbag and directing his staff to look into the matter.

However, the court dismissed the charges related to Kim Keon Hee, ruling that they fell outside the scope of investigations authorized under the insurrection special prosecutor act and declining to rule on the merits.

The special prosecutor's team had asked the court in April to sentence Park to 20 years in prison.

At the time, the team said Park had "actively sided with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection and taken the lead in cloaking it in a veneer of legality," and that he had "witnessed the insurrection and boarded the same boat with his eyes shut tight."

Park denied all charges, maintaining that he had neither supported the emergency martial law nor taken part in carrying it out.

At the final hearing before sentencing, Park argued that he had "only carried out necessary duties during a national emergency" and that his sole concern throughout had been "how to minimize chaos and reduce any side effects that could arise in the administration of justice."

After the ruling, the special prosecutor's team thanked the court for its work and said the verdict had addressed "the responsibility of a justice minister to block an unconstitutional and unlawful declaration of emergency martial law and to protect the constitutional order."


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