Park Sung-jae, who was minister of justice during the 2024 insurrection, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court on June 22, 2025, for the reading of the verdict in his trial on charges of performing key duties in service of the insurrection. (pool photo)
Former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and placed in custody after his initial trial. As a legal expert who served for decades as a prosecutor and former legal adviser to the president, Park was handed down a severe sentence by the court for not only failing to stop the 2024 imposition of martial law by then-President Yoon Suk-yeol, but actively abetting the insurrection.On Monday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to 25 years for crimes including the performance of important duties in an insurrection and abuse of authority. The sentence is longer than the 20-year penalty sought by the special counsel Cho Eun-seok and his team of investigators. Park was found guilty of playing an active role during the martial law crisis on Dec. 3, 2024, including convening a meeting of Ministry of Justice officials to consider sending prosecutors to the martial law command’s joint investigation headquarters and checking the capacity of correctional facilities in preparation for the detention of arrested politicians. Park was also convicted of abusing his authority by instructing staff in charge of foreign travel bans to come to work and ordering the Ministry of Justice’s prosecution department to produce documents that contained justifications for the imposition of martial law (primarily by accusing the Democratic Party of abusing its control of the legislature) directly after it was lifted. “At the thought that the insurrection may not succeed, the defendant continued to ignore his duty to uphold the Constitution, and instead chose to be part of it,” the court said in its verdict. Park was the only public official among those charged in connection with the insurrection to be tried without detention. Warrant judges at Seoul Central District Court rejected warrants for Park’s arrest on two occasions, accepting the former minister’s claim that he was not aware of the unconstitutionality or illegality of martial law at the time. It was ridiculous enough for the minister of justice, the person in charge of law enforcement in the country, to claim that he was “unaware” of the unconstitutionality or illegality of the declaration of martial law, but seeing such absurd claims accepted by the court left many Koreans feeling despondent. With the conclusion of Park’s trial, the initial trials of all state officials charged with abetting the 2024 martial law crisis have now been completed. Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo received a sentence of 23 years in his first trial, although this was reduced to 15 years on appeal. Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min was originally sentenced to seven years, but this was extended to nine years by an appellate court. The court also handed former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun a sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment in his initial trial. All of these former officials routinely gave false testimony to the National Assembly and investigative agencies, as well as in court, claiming they had no memory of certain events even in the face of objective evidence such as CCTV footage. As if turning their backs on the Constitution and the people and taking part in an insurrection was not enough, even after the plot ended in failure they continue to look for a way out to save their own skin instead of admitting any wrongdoing. It is crucial that we throw the book at these criminals to prevent such underhanded high-ranking officials from ever emerging again. Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
