Shin Yong-ha, the former Director of the Ministry of Justice's Corrections Bureau, has been indicted for allegedly securing detention facilities to hold violators of the martial law proclamation under the direction of former Minister Park Sung-jae during the emergency martial law declared on December 3.
The Special Prosecutors' Office determined that Shin directed correctional facilities nationwide, including the Seoul Detention Center, to prepare for detaining violators and even considered emergency parole to secure additional space for detentions.
On August 7, the second Special Prosecutors' team announced that Shin was indicted without detention on charges of participating in important duties during an insurrection.
According to the Special Prosecutors, Shin is accused of instructing the Corrections Bureau and frontline correctional facilities to prepare for the arrest and detention of violators of the martial law proclamation, following orders from former Minister Park.
Specifically, Shin was found to have directed preparations for the detention of violators at the Seoul Detention Center. He also instructed the creation of necessary detention space and the consideration of emergency parole measures to secure that space.
Shin issued similar directives to correctional facilities across the country to prepare for the detention of violators. The Special Prosecutors' team concluded that these actions constituted participation in insurrection activities by executing the orders of former Minister Park.
Shin is known to have assessed the detention capacity of correctional facilities in the metropolitan area immediately after the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024. Previous investigations by the insurrection special prosecutors revealed suspicions that he reported to former Minister Park that an additional 3,600 detainees could be accommodated after confirming the capacity of detention centers nationwide.
Evidence has also emerged that the Corrections Bureau was preparing to establish a so-called 'detention plan for violators of the proclamation' by assessing the capacity of prisons and detention centers in the metropolitan area. This has raised questions about whether the Ministry of Justice was preparing actual detention space for key figures, including politicians, as former President Yoon Suk-yeol allegedly directed arrests during the martial law period.
The charges disclosed by the Special Prosecutors include: instructions to prepare for the arrest and detention of violators at the Seoul Detention Center, directives to secure detention space for violators, consideration of emergency parole to secure space, and instructions to heads of correctional facilities nationwide to prepare for the detention of violators.
Notably, the directive to consider emergency parole is seen as a key charge against Shin, indicating an effort to release existing detainees to make room for violators of the martial law proclamation.
The investigation into Shin began with the previous insurrection special prosecutors' team, which captured evidence that the Corrections Bureau was assessing the detention capacity of facilities during the martial law period. However, the investigation was handed over to the police at the end of last year due to the expiration of the investigation period.
The National Police Agency's Special Investigation Headquarters took over the case and referred Shin to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in January on charges of participating in important duties during an insurrection. Following the establishment of the Special Prosecutors' Office, the case was transferred to the team, which summoned Shin as a suspect on June 24 to investigate the related charges.
Shin has previously testified as a witness in the criminal trial of former Minister Park. At that time, he refused to testify on key allegations, including the establishment of the 'detention plan for violators of the proclamation,' citing his own status as a suspect.
Former Minister Park, who is alleged to have issued directives to Shin, has already been indicted on charges of participating in the insurrection. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the first trial and is currently undergoing an appeal.
The Special Prosecutors' team believes that the directives from former Minister Park led to preparations for the detention of violators at frontline correctional facilities through Shin. The upcoming trial is expected to focus on how far the Ministry of Justice's leadership was prepared to detain actual targets during the martial law period and whether Shin's role constitutes participation in important duties during an insurrection.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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