Prosecutors Investigate Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, for Attending State Council Meeting During Martial Law Lift

Absent from Meeting Before Martial Law Declaration

The prosecution investigating the 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' has summoned Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who attended the Cabinet meeting that lifted the martial law.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is speaking at the "Gadeokdo New Airport Success and Regional Economic Revitalization through Airport and Port Agreement Ceremony" held at Busan Gadeokdo New Airport on the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law (headed by Park Se-hyun, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office) called Minister Park as a witness to investigate the situation related to the Cabinet meeting on the day martial law was declared.

Minister Park did not attend the Cabinet meeting convened by President Yoon Seok-yeol at 10:17 p.m. on the 3rd, just before the martial law was declared. The Cabinet meeting at that time was attended by President Yoon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, then Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, then Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, and Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young-joo.

Minister Park stated that he received a verbal request from an administrative officer of the Presidential Office around 9:18 p.m. on the 3rd to come to the Presidential Office, but he was unable to attend the actual meeting due to transportation issues and other reasons. He claimed that he first became aware of the martial law declaration through President Yoon's public address to the nation.

Minister Park later attended the Cabinet meeting held at 4:27 a.m. on the 4th, after the National Assembly passed the resolution to lift the martial law. The agenda of the meeting was 'lifting of martial law,' and President Yoon did not attend.

With the agenda approved at the Cabinet meeting, the martial law was lifted at 4:30 a.m. on the 4th, about six hours after it was declared.

The prosecution plans to reconstruct the 'timeline' of Cabinet members on the day of the incident by investigating Minister Park about the situation before and after the martial law and the instructions from the Presidential Office.

Minister Park apologized on the 18th regarding the emergency martial law incident, saying, "As a Cabinet member, I am sorry for the current situation that has come about."

The prosecution has been summoning and investigating attendees of the Cabinet meetings before and after the martial law declaration, starting with Minister Cho Kyu-hong on the 12th.