Appeals Court Cuts Former Justice Minister’s Martial Law Sentence to Nine Years

The Seoul High Court on Wednesday reduced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae’s prison sentence from 25 years to nine years over his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024.

The appellate court maintained that Park played a key role in an insurrection but overturned the lower court’s guilty findings on several other counts. The ruling sharply narrowed the scope of his criminal liability while leaving intact the court’s conclusion that some of his actions helped carry out the emergency decree.

Judges found that Park knew the declaration did not satisfy the substantive and procedural requirements for martial law. They also concluded that he understood the decree had been issued for unconstitutional and unlawful purposes. Given his professional background and position as justice minister, the court said he would have been well aware of its unconstitutional character.

The conviction centered on two instructions Park issued to senior officials under his authority. He ordered the chief of the Justice Ministry’s immigration office to call in the official responsible for imposing exit bans. He also instructed the head of correctional services to examine the capacity of correctional facilities.

The appeals court regarded those directions as active participation in measures needed to implement the decree. It said Park had used his authority over subordinates to support the planned execution of martial law rather than merely remaining present during the events.

However, the court acquitted Park of a separate insurrection allegation involving instructions to consider dispatching prosecutors to a martial law investigative body. It also cleared him of abuse-of-power charges connected to his directions to immigration and correctional officials.

Those acquittals marked a significant departure from the lower court’s judgment, which had found Park guilty on all charges brought by special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team. The special counsel had sought a 25-year prison sentence during the appeal.

The decision is one of the latest appellate rulings arising from the failed martial law episode. It distinguishes between conduct the court viewed as direct assistance in implementing the decree and other actions that judges determined did not meet the legal threshold for the charged offenses.