Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for 'Insurrection'

[Anchor]

Park Sung-jae, the former Minister of Justice who stood trial on charges of participating in the December 3 martial law declaration, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in the first trial. The court ordered Park to be taken into court custody, citing concerns over the destruction of evidence.

Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 33 sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to 25 years in prison today (June 22) for his involvement in the insurrection.

The court handed down a sentence five years heavier than the 20-year prison term requested by the special counsel team led by Cho Eun-seok.

[Lee Jin-kwan, Presiding Judge, Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 33: Defendant Park Sung-jae, as the Minister of Justice, ultimately turned away from his duty and responsibility to observe and protect the Constitution and the law, and instead chose to participate as a member of the insurrection.]

The court ordered Park to be taken into custody immediately following the sentencing, citing the risk of evidence destruction.

The court ruled that all charges were proven, stating that after the emergency martial law was declared on December 3, 2024, Park convened a meeting of senior Justice Ministry officials and ordered the review of dispatching prosecutors to the Martial Law Command's joint investigation headquarters, checking the capacity of correctional facilities, and ordering staff in charge of exit bans to report to work, thereby sequentially participating in the insurrection crimes of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Charges that he ordered the Justice Ministry's prosecution division to draft a "document on abuse of power" containing logic to justify martial law immediately after it was lifted were also found guilty.

The court rebuked him, stating, "The duties performed by the former minister were essential requirements for former President Yoon to suppress opposition forces and block the National Assembly from lifting the emergency martial law."

However, the court dismissed the charges regarding Park's alleged inappropriate instructions to the investigation team handling the 'Dior bag scandal' involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee, ruling that it was not subject to investigation under the Special Counsel Act.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu, who was indicted on charges of perjury before the National Assembly by claiming there was no discussion regarding martial law during the so-called 'safe house meeting' immediately after the martial law was lifted, also had his case dismissed.

(Reported by Yang Hyun-chul | Video editing by Kim Jin-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.