Ex-justice minister, special counsel appeal martial law-related ruling

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and special counsel Cho Eun-suk have both appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging an appellate court ruling that reduced Park’s prison sentence from 25 years to nine years over his role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, judicial officials said Wednesday.

Park and Cho’s team filed their appeals with the Seoul High Court on Tuesday, the officials said.

Park was indicted on charges of playing a key role in Yoon’s martial law imposition on Dec. 3, 2024, and participating in an alleged insurrection. The charges included ordering the possible dispatch of prosecutors to a martial law-related organ, putting Korea Immigration Service (KIS) officials in charge of travel bans on standby and directing the Korea Correctional Service (KCS) to assess detention centers’ available capacity.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Park to 25 years in prison after finding him guilty of all charges brought by Cho.

But the Seoul High Court last week reduced his prison sentence to nine years, acquitting him of charges related to the KIS and KCS.

Yonhap