Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae Sentenced to 25 Years for Rebellion Charges

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 33 sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to 25 years in prison for charges including participation in major duties during the Dec. 3 rebellion and abuse of authority, and took him into custody. The court found Park guilty of participating in the Dec. 3 rebellion, despite his obligation as Justice Minister to uphold the Constitution and laws.

These charges include sequentially participating in the then-president's rebellion crimes, such as convening a Justice Ministry executive meeting after the declaration of martial law, reviewing the dispatch of prosecutors to a joint investigation headquarters, checking correctional facility capacity, and ordering staff in charge of exit bans to report to work.

The court determined that Park recognized the unconstitutionality and illegality of the martial law, and that the requested Justice Ministry cooperation points were reasonably processed into a directive document for Park, with subsequent actions actually taken. It also found that Park directly instructed then-Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung by phone to cooperate with the request for prosecutor dispatch, leading to calls between senior prosecutors and counter-intelligence officials.

The court stated that Park abused his authority to order Justice Ministry officials to draft related documents, and that former President Yoon Suk-yeol used these documents to argue for the rebellion's legitimacy and inevitability. The court ordered Park's immediate custody due to concerns of evidence tampering.