Special Prosecutor Seeks 20-Year Sentence for Former Justice Minister Park Seongjae: "A Legal Technician Who Destroyed the Law" (Comprehensive)

Seongjae Park, former Minister of Justice, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the 12·3 Martial Law incident and for allegedly accepting a request related to the investigation of First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

Former Minister of Justice Sungjae Park is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court on the 13th for the substantive examination of his arrest warrant. 2025.11.13 Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

On the 27th, Jo Eunseok, head of the Special Prosecutor’s Team for Rebellion, requested this sentence before the 33rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court during the final hearing for Park, who is charged with participation in major insurrection duties and abuse of authority.

The special prosecution team stated, "A stern judgment is necessary to sound a warning to legal technicians who destroy the law."

For Lee Wankyu, former Chief of the Korea Legislation Research Institute, who is accused of giving false testimony in the National Assembly by claiming there were no discussions related to martial law during the so-called 'safe house meeting' held immediately after the lifting of martial law, the prosecution asked for a three-year prison sentence.

The special prosecution team argued that Park actively participated to ensure that former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law-related crimes could succeed. The team pointed out, "The defendant took the lead in justifying the rebellion and providing procedural support," and added, "He even prepared personnel and material resources to suppress opposing and resistant forces for a successful rebellion."

The team also strongly criticized the charges related to First Lady Kim. The prosecution concluded that Park arbitrarily exercised his law enforcement authority for personal interests. They further argued, "The series of actions between the defendant and First Lady Kim should not be seen as mere communication, but as active collusion involving abuse of power."

Park is accused of convening a Ministry of Justice executive meeting immediately after the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, and participating step-by-step in former President Yoon’s insurrection. At that time, he is reported to have considered dispatching prosecutors to the joint investigation headquarters, checked the capacity of correctional facilities, and instructed the staff in charge of exit bans to report to work.

After the lifting of martial law, he was also charged with ordering the prosecution division at the Ministry of Justice to draft what is referred to as an "abuse of authority document" that justified the imposition of martial law.

Separately, Park is accused of giving inappropriate instructions to subordinates after receiving a request regarding the investigation from First Lady Kim in May last year.

At that time, when Prosecutor General Lee Wonseok ordered the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to form a special investigation team to probe suspicions surrounding First Lady Kim's luxury bag, Kim reportedly sent Park a message asking him to confirm the background of the team's formation.

According to the special prosecutor’s investigation, Park subsequently instructed the relevant department staff to check the details and received a report on the matter.

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