Accused of Condoning Martial Law and Relaying Orders to Cut Off Utilities
Also Faces Perjury Charges from Impeachment Trial
Second Cabinet Member to Be Detained
The live broadcast of the trial concerning former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who faces charges including engaging in important duties related to insurrection, was approved on the 15th.
The 32nd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kang Wansu) accepted the application for broadcast submitted by the Special Prosecutor for Insurrection, Cho Eunseok, and decided to allow the entire first hearing, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on the 17th, to be filmed and released from start to finish. The footage will be recorded using the court's official camera and, after audio muting and mosaic processing to prevent identification, will be released online.
Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who is accused of power outage and water outage, perjury, and engaging in important duties related to insurrection, is appearing before the Special Prosecutor's Office for Insurrection in Seocho-dong, Seoul on July 25, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun
This approval for live broadcast is based on Article 11 of the revised Special Prosecutor Act for Insurrection, which stipulates that if the special prosecutor or the defendant requests it, the broadcast must be permitted unless there are special circumstances.
Lee, who was the minister in charge under martial law during the 12·3 Martial Law, is accused of failing to prevent and instead condoning the illegal declaration of martial law by former President Yoon Suk-yeol. He was also indicted and detained last August on charges of relaying Yoon's orders to cut off electricity and water to media outlets to the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency. Additionally, he faces a perjury charge for testifying falsely during the impeachment trial of former President Yoon in February, claiming, "I never attempted to cut off electricity or water, nor did I ever receive such instructions."
Lee's case completed its pretrial hearing on the 19th of last month and will enter its substantive trial phase on the 17th of this month. He is the second cabinet member to be detained, following former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyeon.
Previously, the court also approved live broadcasts at the request of the special prosecutor for the trials of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of leading insurrection and obstructing arrest, as well as for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's trial on charges of aiding and abetting insurrection leadership.
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