A South Korean court has sentenced former justice minister Park Sung-jae to 25 years in prison for his role in the martial law declaration made in December 2024 by then president Yoon Suk Yeol. The ruling comes after Yoon himself was removed from office and later convicted in a string of related cases.
According to the article, Yoon was first sentenced in January to five years in prison after being found guilty of falsifying an official document tied to the martial law declaration, destroying evidence, and blocking authorities from arresting him. A month later, he received a life sentence for sedition and abuse of authority.
The court said Yoon mobilized his security forces to prevent officials from carrying out the arrest warrant against him. In its ruling, the court wrote that he “abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of lawful orders through officials from the security service.” It also said he effectively “privatized” public servants loyal to the Republic of Korea for his own security and personal gain.
Yoon declared martial law on December 3, 2024, saying he feared for national security. He accused opposition figures of collaborating with North Korea and alleged that opposition leaders supported those plans. Special forces entered parliament and soldiers were deployed across the capital, Seoul, leading to clashes with civilians. Within hours, parliament unanimously rejected the martial law order, and weeks later lawmakers voted to impeach him, including some members of his own party. The country’s Supreme Court still needs to confirm the impeachment for it to become final and trigger new elections.
