Ex-Security Chief Park Chong-jun Demanded 7-Year Prison Sentence in Appeal Over Obstructing Yoon Seok-yeol's Arrest

Former Presidential Security Service Chief Park Chong-jun, who was sentenced to 5 years in prison in the first trial on charges of obstructing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) from executing an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Seok-yeol, is facing a demanded 7-year prison sentence in his appellate trial.

During the sentencing hearing for Park and other defendants held today by Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik), the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok demanded a 7-year prison term, the same as in the first trial.

Former Deputy Chief Kim Sung-hoon, who was indicted together, also faced a demanded 7-year prison sentence, while former Security Operations Division Head Lee Kwang-woo and former Family Security Division Head Kim Shin were recommended for 5 years and 3 years in prison, respectively.

These are identical to the sentences demanded in the first trial.

The special counsel team rebuked, saying, "The Presidential Security Service is directly under the president, but it is not a group of bodyguards privately hired by an individual." They added, "However, the Presidential Security Service betrayed the public trust and opposed legitimate law enforcement like the private bodyguards of the president, inflicting a major blow on the future existence and credibility of the Presidential Security Service."

The team pointed out, "The defendants systematically committed this crime to protect a single person, 'Yoon Seok-yeol, the ringleader of the insurrection' who declared an illegal martial law to destroy the democratic constitutional order and paralyze state functions," adding, "It was not a spontaneous response, but rather a planned preparation carried out while closely monitoring the progress of the investigation."

The special counsel team criticized, "The public had no choice but to watch, amidst extreme anxiety and confusion, as the rule of law in the Republic of Korea was destroyed by the Presidential Security Service, a state institution. Such scenes where trust in the rule of law is severely undermined will be recorded as a tragic page in history."

They emphasized, "No one, for any reason, can block the execution of a warrant issued by a judge—something any average person can clearly understand and leaves no room for doubt," adding, "If there are doubts about the validity or legitimacy of a warrant's execution, it is a matter to be contested through legal procedures, and it should never be blocked by utilizing the public authority and resources granted to the Presidential Security Service."

In his final statement, former Chief Park Chong-jun said, "Please take into consideration the circumstances where I lost sleep worrying to break through the hair-trigger clash between state institutions, though I lacked the courage to persuade the president to the end, failed to decisively resolve the standoff, and resigned."

With tears in his eyes, former Deputy Chief Kim Sung-hoon stated, "I am not someone who knows the law well, but I worked knowing that a security officer's attitude is to carry out assigned duties to the end under any circumstances. I hope you will look once more into the inevitable situation under which I had to perform my security duties under pressure. Anyone else in that position would have found it difficult to avoid."

The sentencing date has been set for October 28.

Former Chief Park and the others are accused of obstructing the entry into the presidential residence and other duties when the CIO, which was investigating former President Yoon for insurrection charges, attempted to execute an arrest warrant in January of last year.

Former Deputy Chief Kim is also charged with violating the Presidential Security Act by being involved in deleting classified phone data of three military commanders who became subjects of the investigation, following former President Yoon's instructions.

Previously, the first court acknowledged the major charges against former Chief Park but sentenced him to 4 years in prison—lower than the special counsel's demand—and took him into legal custody.

Former Deputy Chief Kim was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and former Division Head Lee was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison, with both being taken into immediate custody in court due to concerns of flight.

As for former Division Head Kim Shin, while acknowledging some charges as guilty, the court sentenced him to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension of execution, taking into account that he did not conspire with the other defendants in the overall acts of obstructing the execution of the arrest warrant.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.