Park Seongjae Appears for Second Detention Hearing on 'Martial Law Participation'... Hwang Kyo-ahn Faces Afternoon Hearing on 'Inciting Rebellion'

Park Seongjae: "No Change in My Position"
Hwang Kyo-ahn's Detention Hearing at 4 p.m.
Decision Expected as Early as Tonight

The detention hearing for former Minister of Justice Park Seongjae, who is accused of participating in the 12·3 Martial Law, began on the 13th. In the afternoon, a detention hearing for former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is facing charges of inciting and promoting rebellion, is scheduled to take place. The decision on whether to detain them is expected as early as tonight.

Seongjae Park, former Minister of Justice, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court on the 13th for a substantive hearing on his arrest warrant. 2025.11.13 Photo by Dongju Yoon

Nam Sejin, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, began the pre-arrest interrogation (warrant review) for former Minister Park at 10:10 a.m. and is currently reviewing the necessity of arrest and investigation.

Arriving at the court at around 10:02 a.m., former Minister Park responded to reporters asking, "Do you still believe the second detention warrant review is based on an unreasonable request?" by saying, "My position has not changed." He did not answer further questions, such as whether he requested signatures at the Cabinet meeting before the martial law declaration, and proceeded directly into the courtroom. On October 15, former Minister Park had stated, "I believe the special prosecutor's warrant request was excessive, based on unfounded speculation and logical leaps using incorrect information."

On November 11, the Special Investigation Team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok re-applied for a detention warrant for former Minister Park on charges of engaging in important duties related to rebellion and abuse of authority. The team announced that for the hearing, they deployed Special Prosecutor Assistant Lee Yoonje, prosecutors Cha Junghyun and Song Youngsun from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, as well as military prosecutors Shin Dongjin and Ki Jiwoo, and prepared a 163-page presentation (PPT). In addition, they submitted a 235-page opinion paper emphasizing the necessity of detention.

Former Minister Park is accused of sequentially participating in former President Yoon’s rebellion crimes by convening meetings of Ministry of Justice directors and bureau chiefs after the martial law declaration, ordering reviews of dispatching prosecutors to the Joint Investigation Headquarters, checking the capacity of correctional facilities, and instructing staff in charge of exit bans to report to work.

Previously, on October 9, the special investigation team had applied for a detention warrant for former Minister Park, citing concerns about destruction of evidence, but the court dismissed it, stating, "There is room for dispute regarding the degree of his awareness of illegality and the illegality of the actions he took."

After the warrant was dismissed, the special investigation team reapplied for the warrant, adding new criminal facts based on evidence obtained through additional searches and seizures. It is known that the team added to the abuse of authority charges after confirming that the Ministry of Justice’s Prosecution Division, under former Minister Park’s direction, drafted documents justifying the martial law.

'Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn Also Faces Detention Hearing on Charges of Inciting and Promoting Rebellion'

Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on Charges of Inciting Rebellion, is heading to the Special Investigation Office for Rebellion set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 12th. Yonhap News

At 4 p.m. on the same day, Judge Park Jungho, who is also in charge of warrants at the same court, will conduct a detention warrant review for former Prime Minister Hwang.

Former Prime Minister Hwang is accused of participating in the promotion of rebellion by posting a message supporting the martial law on Facebook on December 3 last year, despite being aware of the illegality of the martial law declared by former President Yoon Sukyeol.

In the post, former Prime Minister Hwang stated, "Martial law has been declared. The top priority now is to prevent chaos in the country," and added, "We must eradicate the pro-North Korean Juche faction and the forces behind fraudulent elections that have ruined the country."

The results of the detention hearings for former Minister Park and former Prime Minister Hwang are expected to be announced as early as late tonight.