Special Prosecutor Drops Appeal in Park Sung-jae Case After Dismissal of Indictment

[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor's Office for Insurrection, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok, has withdrawn its appeal over former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae's Anti-Graft Act charge, which was dismissed at first instance.
The special prosecution team said on the 29th that it withdrew, on the 27th, its appeal against the Anti-Graft Act charge in Park's lower-court ruling, where the charge had been dismissed.
The team explained, "If the special prosecutor's appeal against the dismissal were accepted, the insurrection-related duty charge, for which Park was convicted, could also be sent back for retrial, delaying proceedings." It added that the decision was based on litigation efficiency, taking into account the legislative purpose of the Special Counsel Act on Insurrection, which was enacted to ensure a swift trial in the insurrection case, as well as the relative weight of the dismissed offense within the defendant's overall charges.
However, the team stressed that this did not mean it considered the charge justified. It also said, "We plan to transfer the matter so that another agency can file charges promptly on the portion for which the appeal was withdrawn."
Last month, Criminal Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Jin-gwan, sentenced Park to 25 years in prison on charges including involvement in insurrection-related duties. However, the court dismissed the Anti-Graft Act charge, which alleged that he had received a request from First Lady Kim Keon Hee to interfere with an investigation. The court said the Telegram messages from Park that triggered the investigation had no specific connection to the martial law declaration or to the insurrection and foreign-aggression offenses, and therefore did not fall within the scope of the investigation under the Special Counsel Act on Insurrection.

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