A South Korean court has sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to 25 years in prison for his role in former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived and controversial declaration of martial law in 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court found Park guilty of involvement in an “insurrection,” according to a recording of the court’s verdict shared online.
Yoon’s late-night declaration of martial law in December 2024 lasted only about six hours before lawmakers rushed to the National Assembly and voted to overturn it during an emergency session.
The former president has since been convicted of leading an insurrection and remains in detention while appealing a life sentence.
Earlier this month, Yoon was also handed a 30-year prison term after being found guilty of sending drones to North Korea in an attempt to “manufacture a national crisis” that could justify the imposition of martial law.
Prosecutors said Park convened a meeting of justice ministry officials in the early hours following the declaration and reviewed prison capacity in preparation for the possible arrest of anti-government figures.
“Due to the actions of the defendant, the country nearly faced a situation in which the people’s fundamental rights and the basic order of liberal democracy could have been violated,” presiding judge Lee Jin-gwan said on Monday.
The judge further stated that as justice minister, Park “ignored the various opinions that had been raised at the meeting regarding the illegality of the Dec 3 insurrection.”
Prosecutors had requested a 20-year sentence, arguing that Park had “reduced the law to a tool of insurrection in his abuse of power and posed a challenge to the rule of law.”
Although Park had been standing trial while free, he was taken into custody immediately after the court delivered its verdict.
Yoon’s surprise late-night televised announcement of martial law plunged South Korea into one of the most significant political crises in its recent history. The declaration sparked nationwide protests, unsettled financial markets, and caught major allies, including the United States, off guard.
Several senior officials linked to the failed martial law move have also received lengthy prison sentences.
Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is currently serving a 15-year prison term, while former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Last week, former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun received a three-year jail sentence for disclosing classified military information connected to the insurrection.
Meanwhile, Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, is serving a four-year prison sentence for stock manipulation and bribery offences unrelated to the martial law controversy.
The convictions mark another chapter in the legal fallout from the failed martial law declaration that shook South Korea’s political landscape and led to the downfall of one of the country’s most controversial administrations.
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