the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. Yonhap
the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul. Yonhap

A special counsel team investigating suspicions of insurrection surrounding the failed martial law declaration of Dec. 3 carried out search-and-seizure operations on Monday at the Justice Ministry, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and several other locations.

The raids, led by Special Counsel Cho Eun-suk, targeted former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung. Park faces allegations of abetting and failing to prevent former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to impose martial law, while Shim has been accused of abuse of power for declining to appeal a March court ruling that revoked Yoon’s detention order, allowing for his release.

Assistant Special Counsel Park Ji-young told reporters that investigators were searching Park’s home, the Justice Ministry, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Seoul Detention Center and other sites, as part of the team’s probe into Shim and Park.

It is highly unusual for a former justice minister and a former prosecutor general to be subjected to simultaneous raids.

According to investigators, Park was among six Cabinet members summoned by Yoon on Dec. 3, when the former president disclosed his plan to impose martial law.

The special counsel team has indicated in its warrant that Park, immediately after Yoon’s declaration of martial law, convened a meeting of senior officials at the Justice Ministry and instructed the Prosecutors’ Bureau to dispatch a prosecutor to the joint investigation headquarters. The warrant also says that Park ordered an Immigration Service official in charge of travel bans to report for duty outside normal hours — a move seen as preparing to impose emergency travel restrictions on political or military figures who might attempt to flee the country.

Shim, meanwhile, resigned as prosecutor general early last month, shortly after President Lee Jae Myung took office on June 4 following Yoon’s impeachment. His resignation also came as the new administration unveiled a sweeping prosecution reform plan aimed at separating the powers of investigation and indictment.

Separate from the martial law-related cases, Shim is also under scrutiny in relation to the controversial appointment of former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup as Ambassador to Australia in March 2024. A separate special counsel team has obtained Shim’s mobile phone and other materials as part of their investigation into allegations of abuse of power or improper interference in that diplomatic appointment process.

At the time of his appointment, Lee Jong-sup was under active investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials over suspicions of interfering in a Marine Corps’ internal probe into the death of Lance Cpl. Chae Su-geun during a flood rescue operation in 2023. However, the Justice Ministry lifted the travel ban almost immediately after Yoon appointed Lee, when Shim was Vice Justice Minister at the time. Lee’s tenure as ambassador lasted less than a month, as he resigned on March 29, 2024, and the resignation was promptly accepted by Yoon amid mounting political backlash.


mkjung@heraldcorp.com