Park Jong-jun's Sentence Reduced to 3 Years for Obstructing Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol

Park Jong-jun, the former chief of the Presidential Security Service, received a reduced sentence in an appeals court for his role in obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol. On October 28, the Seoul High Court overturned the initial four-year sentence, reducing it to three years for charges including obstruction of special public duty.

Lee Kwang-woo, the former head of the Security Headquarters, was also sentenced to two years, a reduction of six months from the first trial. In contrast, Kim Sung-hoon, who led the organized resistance, maintained his five-year sentence, while Kim Shin, the former head of the Family Security Division, received a one-year sentence with a two-year probation.

The defendants were indicted by the Special Prosecutor's Team for their illegal actions in January of last year when the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials attempted to execute an arrest warrant related to Yoon's alleged insurrection. Kim Sung-hoon is also accused of deleting sensitive phone records of three military commanders under investigation at the direction of Yoon.

The appeals court upheld all guilty verdicts for obstruction of special public duty. The judges criticized Park, stating, "He cannot evade responsibility for leading the overall actions of the Security Service at the time and causing physical clashes. He was fully aware that refusing to execute a court-issued arrest warrant was illegal, yet he committed the crime."

However, the court acknowledged a change in the defendants' attitudes during the appeals process as a reason for the reduced sentence. Both Park and Lee, who had denied the charges in the first trial, admitted to the facts in the second trial, contesting only the severity of the sentence.

The court noted, "It does not appear that Park actively intended to cause physical clashes with the officials responsible for executing the warrant, and he submitted his resignation last January, acknowledging his responsibility as the highest official and stepping down from his position." It added, "Considering the late acknowledgment of responsibility and remorse for the severe social turmoil and conflict caused by their actions, the first trial's sentence was somewhat excessive and unjust."

Conversely, the court upheld Kim Sung-hoon's sentence, stating, "He played a key role in organized resistance by directing the deletion of military commanders' sensitive phone records and taking the most active and aggressive role in obstructing the execution of the warrant."

Previously, the special prosecutor had sought seven years in prison for both Park and Kim. In his final statement, Park expressed, "I only sought to uphold the president's wishes, failing to consider the public's desire for the restoration of democratic constitutional order," indicating his sincere remorse.