Park Sungjae Appears for Detention Hearing on Charges of Aiding Yoon's Insurrection... Decision Expected Tonight

Park Sungjae Says, "I Will Explain Thoroughly in Court"
Special Prosecutor Prepares 230-Page Opinion and 120-Slide Presentation

The detention hearing for former Justice Minister Park Sungjae, who is accused of participating in former President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law, began on October 14. A decision on whether Park will be detained is expected as early as this afternoon.

Yonhap News Agency

Judge Park Jungho, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, began the substantive examination of the warrant for former Minister Park at 10:10 a.m. on this day.

Arriving at the court around 9:55 a.m., former Minister Park responded to reporters' questions such as, "Why did you check the capacity of the detention center? Was it in preparation for the arrest of politicians?" by saying, "I will explain thoroughly in court." He did not answer further questions, including "Why did you order prosecutors to be dispatched to the Joint Investigation Headquarters?" and "CCTV footage was released on the day martial law was declared-did you really oppose martial law?" and proceeded into the courthouse.

Previously, on October 9, Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok's team requested an arrest warrant for former Minister Park on charges of participating in key duties related to insurrection and abuse of authority by interfering with the exercise of rights.

The special prosecutor's team stated that for this hearing, Special Prosecutor Assistant Lee Yoonje, prosecutors Cha Junghyun and Song Youngsun, as well as military prosecutors Shin Dongjin and Ki Jiwoo, were assigned to the case, and a 120-page presentation (PPT) was prepared. In addition, a 230-page opinion emphasizing the necessity of detention was also submitted.

On the day martial law was declared, former Minister Park was one of the six cabinet members whom former President Yoon first called to inform them of his plan. Park is accused of convening a meeting of senior officials at the Ministry of Justice after the declaration of martial law last year, instructing them to consider dispatching prosecutors to the Joint Investigation Headquarters, and ordering immigration officials to be on standby to prevent key political figures and other major targets of arrest from leaving the country.

He is also suspected of instructing the Ministry of Justice's Correctional Bureau to check for available space to detain those arrested. The special prosecutor's team recovered an electronic document, which had been created and then deleted under Park's orders, indicating that more than 3,600 additional detainees could be accommodated in detention centers in the Seoul metropolitan area.

According to the special prosecutor's team, not only did former Minister Park fail in his duty to prevent the illegal imposition of martial law as the head of a ministry whose core responsibilities include protecting human rights and upholding the rule of law, but he also conspired in acts of insurrection.

If the court issues a detention warrant for former Minister Park, the investigation into other cabinet members who attended the cabinet meeting, including former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Taeyong, is expected to gain momentum. Conversely, if the warrant is dismissed, it is likely that the investigation will face unavoidable setbacks.

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