Trial of Park Sung-jae on Charges of Involvement in Martial Law and Obstructing Investigation Fully Underway... First Hearing on 26th

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[The Financial News] The trial of former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who has been indicted on charges of participating in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3 emergency martial law declaration and blocking an investigation into First Lady Kim Keon Hee, is now moving into full swing.
The Criminal Agreement Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-kwan, held the first preparatory hearing on the 19th for former Minister Park, who has been indicted on charges including engaging in important duties related to insurrection, and for former Ministry of Government Legislation (MOLEG) chief Lee Wan-kyu, who has been charged with perjury. Under the Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea, defendants are not required to appear at preparatory hearings, and accordingly neither of them appeared in court.
Counsel for former Minister Park requested access to evidence from the Special Prosecutor Team for Insurrection and Treason led by Cho Eun-seok. They argued that some of the evidence submitted by the special prosecutor team concerns military security matters and has been kept confidential, preventing the defense from reviewing it. The special prosecutor team allowed inspection, but not copying, of the military classified materials.
They also requested that certain news articles listed as evidence by the special prosecutor team be withdrawn. Counsel for former MOLEG chief Lee stated, “The court has yet to rule on this investigation, and the fact-finding has been conducted thoroughly,” adding, “Unless an article has value because it reports the full text of testimony revealing specific facts, these are simply stories written by reporters based on their own reporting, and it is inappropriate to submit them in court.” The special prosecutor team countered that the articles are relevant “to determining whether perjury was committed and to assessing the defendant’s perception of the situation at the time.”
Taking into account that the charges against the two defendants do not overlap, the court plans to separate the trials at a later stage. It will decide on this after assessing the necessity in light of the defense’s requests. The court will also determine whether the case involving former MOLEG chief Lee properly falls within the scope of the special prosecutor’s investigation and indictment.
Both defendants essentially denied the allegations set out by the special prosecutor team. After the hearing, counsel for former MOLEG chief Lee told reporters, “The remarks attributed to him in the indictment drafted by the special prosecutor were never made by him in the National Assembly,” clearly stating that he denies the charges. Counsel for former Minister Park likewise said that Park denies all allegations.
Former Minister Park is accused of participating in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection by convening senior officials of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Korea after the emergency martial law declaration on December 3, 2024, and ordering them to secure space in correctional facilities, consider dispatching prosecutors to a joint investigation headquarters, and place the exit-ban team on emergency standby. He also faces charges that, after receiving a request from Kim Keon Hee, he disposed of a related case in a way that cleared her of wrongdoing.
Former MOLEG chief Lee is charged with perjury in the National Assembly regarding a meeting he attended the day after the emergency martial law declaration at the Samcheong-dong secret guesthouse in Seoul with former Minister Park, former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, and Kim Joo-hyun, former senior presidential secretary for civil affairs. At the time, Lee stated before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly and elsewhere that “we did not talk about much” and that the meeting was “for social purposes.” The special prosecutor team, however, views the gathering as a prior coordination meeting to prepare a response to the insurrection investigation and has concluded that his testimony was false.
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter