Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Role in Dec. 3 Insurrection

[Anchor]

Park Sung-jae, the former Minister of Justice who was indicted for his involvement in the December 3 insurrection, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in his first trial and taken into court custody. The court stated that "the actions of the former minister could have plunged the Republic of Korea into the quagmire of a dictatorship," and handed down a sentence heavier than the special prosecutor's recommendation.

Report by Jang Hoon-kyung.

[Reporter]

[Lee Jin-kwan, Presiding Judge of the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court: The defendant, Park Sung-jae, is sentenced to 25 years in prison.]

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who was charged with participating in an insurrection and other crimes, to 25 years in prison and ordered him to be taken into custody.

Presiding Judge Lee Jin-kwan, who sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison last January—eight years more than the special prosecutor's recommendation—again imposed a sentence five years heavier than the 20 years requested by the special prosecutor.

The court stated that after the declaration of martial law, Park participated in the insurrection while fully aware of its unconstitutional purpose and illegality, such as by dispatching prosecutors to the Joint Investigation Headquarters and ordering the securing of detention space in correctional facilities during a Ministry of Justice meeting.

The court also found him guilty of abuse of power, including ordering the standby of an exit ban team, thereby forcing public officials to perform duties they were not obligated to carry out.

[Lee Jin-kwan, Presiding Judge of the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court: You chose to participate as a member of the insurrection, thinking it might succeed. (The Republic of Korea) could have been trapped in the quagmire of a dictatorship for a long time.]

During his final trial, Park shed tears, claiming he could not stop former President Yoon Suk Yeol. However, the court rebuked him, stating that it was difficult to recognize the sincerity of his remorse and that there was no evidence to suggest he had made efforts to restore the damage suffered by the public.

The court, however, dismissed the charges that Park had issued inappropriate instructions to the investigation team regarding the Dior bag scandal involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee at her request, ruling that it fell outside the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation.

The court also dismissed the case against former Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu, who was indicted for perjury before the National Assembly by testifying that there were no discussions regarding martial law during a "safe house meeting" held immediately after martial law was lifted, ruling that he was also not subject to investigation under the Special Prosecutor Act.

(Video Editing: Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.