Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison in Appeal Over Insurrection Complicity, Reduced From 25 Years

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 has sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who faces charges of engaging in important missions in an insurrection, to 9 years in prison in his appeal trial, significantly reducing the sentence from the 25 years handed down in the first trial.

The special counsel team investigating the insurrection indicted the former minister on charges of complicity in the insurrection, including convening a meeting of Ministry of Justice officials and ordering the review of dispatching prosecutors to the joint investigation headquarters of the martial law command following the declaration of emergency martial law on December 3.

Park is also accused of abuse of power, including allegedly ordering the Ministry of Justice's prosecution division to draft documents justifying the martial law.

The appellate court overturned the conviction on the charge of abuse of power related to the directive for documents justifying the emergency martial law, finding him not guilty on that count, and sentenced him to 9 years in prison.

Previously, the first-instance court found him guilty of most charges and handed down a 25-year prison sentence, which was heavier than the 20-year sentence demanded by the special counsel team.

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