Former Minister Lee Sangmin Indicted and Detained for Martial Law Conspiracy: "Participated in Rebellion Undermining Constitutional Order" (Comprehensive)

The special prosecutor team led by Cho Eunseok, which is investigating allegations of insurrection and treason related to the declaration of martial law, has indicted former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sangmin on charges of conspiring to illegally declare martial law.

On the 19th, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Insurrection announced, "We have indicted former Minister Lee on charges of involvement in important duties related to insurrection, abuse of authority, and perjury."

As the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which is the main agency responsible for martial law during peacetime, Lee is accused of failing to fulfill his "duties as a Cabinet member." The special prosecutor’s team determined that although he had a responsibility to prevent the President from arbitrarily declaring martial law, he failed to do so, effectively aiding and abetting the declaration as an accomplice.

Former Minister Lee claimed that he opposed the declaration of martial law by appealing to the President, saying, "The public cannot accept this, and Cabinet members are also opposed." However, the special prosecutor’s team concluded that Lee’s expression of opposition was either insufficient or did not actually take place.

Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Sangmin Lee, who is accused of power outage and water cut by the press, perjury, and engaging in important duties related to insurrection, remained silent in response to reporters' questions as he appeared before the Special Prosecutor's Office for Insurrection in Seocho-dong, Seoul on July 25, 2025. Photo by Yongjun Cho

Furthermore, Lee is also accused of actively participating in the insurrection by conveying former President Yoon’s instructions to cut off power and water to media outlets. It was found that on the day martial law was declared, former President Yoon handed Lee a document instructing him to "block access to Hankyoreh Newspaper, Kyunghyang Newspaper, MBC, JTBC, and polling agencies around 24:00, and cut off power and water through the National Fire Agency."

Taking these factors into account, the special prosecutor’s team appears to have applied the charge of "involvement in important duties related to insurrection," judging that Lee’s actions constituted directing insurrection-related activities or engaging in other important duties.

At a briefing, Special Prosecutor Park Jiyoung explained, "According to the Government Organization Act, the Minister of the Interior and Safety oversees the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency and has the authority to direct and supervise affiliated public officials," adding, "In particular, the minister is responsible for overseeing safety and disaster-related work."

She continued, "Despite having the duty to protect the lives and safety of the public and shield them from disasters, the Minister of the Interior and Safety participated in a rebellion aimed at undermining the constitutional order, led by President Yoon Sukyeol, by instructing power and water cuts to media outlets. We also considered whether he actively voiced opposition upon learning of the martial law declaration in deciding to indict him," she emphasized.

The indictment also includes charges of perjury before the Constitutional Court. On February 11, during the impeachment trial of former President Yoon, Lee testified that he had never attempted to cut off power or water, nor had he received such instructions. However, the special prosecutor’s team determined this to be perjury, based on security camera footage from the presidential office showing Lee holding a document suspected to contain instructions for power and water cuts while conversing with former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo.

Special Prosecutor Park pointed out, "Through the secured CCTV footage, we were able to clearly recognize Lee’s actions," and added, "He committed perjury in order to conceal his and his accomplices’ crimes, disregarding the public’s desire for truth during the impeachment proceedings."

With this development, Lee becomes the second Cabinet member of the Yoon Sukyeol administration to be indicted and detained in connection with the martial law incident, following former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyun. Considering this, it is expected that authorities will soon move to secure the custody of former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo, who was responsible for directing and supervising them. On the morning of the 19th, prosecutors began questioning Han as a suspect starting at 9:30 a.m.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.