Seoul: 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.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Park was also indicted on charges of abusing his power by instructing the ministry to draft documents justifying the imposition of martial law. Additionally, he was charged with 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.