Insurrection Counsel Transfers Park Sung-jae’s ‘Improper Solicitation’ Case to Independent Counsel

The special counsel team for insurrection, led by Cho Eun-suk, attempted to transfer the case involving former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae—related to allegations of quashing an investigation at First Lady Kim Gun-hee’s request—to the second independent counsel team led by Kwon Chang-young. However, the independent counsel team effectively refused the request, citing legal grounds stating that finalized cases cannot be transferred. Park, who was indicted for allegedly granting Kim’s improper request, had his indictment dismissed by the Seoul Central District Court in the first trial last month on the grounds that he was not a target of the special counsel’s investigation. While the insurrection counsel team initially appealed, they withdrew the appeal, finalizing the dismissal and attempting to hand over the case to the independent counsel.

The independent counsel team stated that, pursuant to Article 18 of the Special Counsel Act on Insurrection, cases finalized after an indictment must be transferred to the Prosecutor General within 10 days and cannot be subject to reassignment.

Meanwhile, the appeal hearing for former Minister Park’s involvement in martial law began on the 31st before the Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul High Court. The court has decided to conduct witness questioning for former President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 24th of next month.