Park Sung-jae

On June 22, 2026, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae to 25 years in prison for his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3, 2024, martial law declaration. The court convicted Park of insurrection and abuse of power, finding he facilitated the bid by ordering officials to prepare detention facilities for political figures, coordinate travel bans, and dispatch prosecutors to a martial law-supporting body. Separately, Park faced accusations of abusing power by having subordinates investigate the status of a prosecution probe into former first lady Kim Keon Hee in May 2024. The court dismissed additional charges against him for violating the anti-graft law, ruling they fell outside the special counsel's mandate. Additionally, Park was under investigation for allegedly assisting former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in leaving the country to avoid a probe into a 2023 Marine's death. Previously, the Constitutional Court dismissed an impeachment motion against Park in April 2025 regarding the martial law declaration, finding insufficient evidence of his involvement at that time.