South Korea: Special Counsel Indicts Ex-Justice Minister On Insurrection Charges

(MENAFN- IANS) Seoul, Dec 11 (IANS) A special counsel team on Thursday indicted former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae on charges of involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law.

The team led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk said Park is accused of playing a key role in an insurrection by calling a meeting of senior justice ministry officials following the December 2024 martial law declaration, ordering the possible dispatch of prosecutors to a martial law-related organ, directing the Korea Correctional Service to check the capacity of detention facilities and putting Korea Immigration Service officials in charge of travel bans on standby, Yonhap News Agency reported.

In addition, Park was indicted on charges of abusing his power by instructing the ministry to draft documents justifying the imposition of martial law.

He was also indicted on charges of violating a law banning improper solicitation by acting on a request from Yoon's wife, Kim Keon Hee, to help clear her of various criminal charges.

Earlier, the special counsel team made two requests for a warrant to arrest Park. After both were rejected by a court, they proceeded to indict him without physical detention.

The team, whose mandate is to investigate all suspicions related to Yoon's martial law declaration, separately indicted former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on charges of dereliction of duty for their non-appointment of Constitutional Court justices in the wake of Yoon's impeachment last December.

Han and three former presidential officials were also indicted on charges of abuse of power for naming two justice candidates allegedly without vetting them properly.

Earlier in November, special prosecutors investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid raided another special counsel team this week to secure evidence related to his wife's alleged involvement in the episode, legal sources said.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team executed a court-issued warrant to search and seize documents from special counsel Min Joong-ki's team, which has been investigating former first lady Kim Keon Hee's corruption charges.

The documents sought by Cho's team included her phone records.

The special prosecutors reportedly discovered signs of Kim's involvement in Yoon's declaration of martial law last December while investigating former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae's role in the event.

Kim reportedly sent a text message to Park in May last year concerning the prosecution's investigation into various corruption allegations she faced.

Cho's team suspects Yoon's martial law declaration was motivated in part by his desire to protect his wife from her legal issues.

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