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Park Sung-jae, former justice minister accused of aiding and abetting former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3 martial law declaration, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, after a pre-trial detention hearing on October 14. / Source: Yonhap News

“There is no room to dispute awareness of the illegality of martial law.”

The special counsel investigating alleged insurrection said Wednesday it will seek a new arrest warrant for former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, after a court rejected the first request.

“At the level of a justice minister’s position and constitutional duties, and given the seriousness of the matter, it is difficult to accept the court’s decision to dismiss the warrant,” Deputy Special Prosecutor Park Ji-young told a briefing. “We will promptly take steps to obtain the court’s judgment again.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Judge Park Jeong-ho of the Seoul Central District Court denied the warrant, saying “there is room for dispute over how the suspect came to recognize the illegality, what exactly he recognized as illegal, and whether — and to what extent — the measures he took were unlawful.”

The prosecution countered that on the morning martial law was declared, Park attended the Cabinet meeting, and when the president later summoned him, he had already left work and was going about his daily routine. “It was plain to anyone that the situation did not require the military to maintain public order, nor did it meet the substantive conditions for declaring martial law,” the deputy special prosecutor said.

He added that, as all Cabinet members have acknowledged, the Cabinet session that purported to deliberate martial law “did not have substance,” stressing: “There is no room to dispute that the suspect recognized the illegality of martial law when he took objective actions.”

On whether to bolster the investigation, Park said, “What has already been investigated is sufficient to merit a fresh assessment,” adding that the team will decide after internal discussions.