Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae attends his insurrection trial at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, Monday. Yonhap
A special counsel team on Monday sought a 20-year prison term for former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae on charges of playing a key role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid and granting undue favors to Yoon's wife.
The team led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk made the sentence request during the final hearing of Park's trial at the Seoul Central District Court, saying it calls for strict judgment in order to sound the alarm on "a jurist who destroys the law."
Park is accused of playing a key role in an insurrection and abusing his power by calling a meeting of senior justice ministry officials in the wake of Yoon's December 2024 martial law declaration to review dispatching prosecutors to a martial law-supporting body, checking the capacity of correctional facilities and calling to work officials responsible for imposing travel bans.
Additionally, the former minister is accused of giving inappropriate orders to his subordinates in line with a request from Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, in May 2024, to check certain details of the prosecution's investigation into suspicions about her corruption.
Meanwhile, the special counsel team requested a three-year prison term for former Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu on charges of giving false testimony to the National Assembly that there was no discussion of the martial law order at a meeting held at a presidential safe house immediately after the decree was lifted.
Source: Korea Times News
