Appellate court reduces ex-PSS chief's sentence to 3 years

Appellate court reduces former PSS chief's sentence to 3 years

Park Jong-joon, the former chief of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), has been sentenced to three years in prison by an appellate court on Wednesday. The reduced sentence is a decrease from the original four-year term given by a lower court in July. The court's decision comes after Park obstructed investigators from executing an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol at the presidential residence in January 2025, in connection with Yoon's imposition of martial law.

The Seoul High Court deemed Park's sentence reduction suitable, as he did not appear to have been directly involved in physical confrontations with officials attempting to execute the warrant. Additionally, the court noted that Park's resignation on January 7, 2025, could be seen as an acknowledgment of responsibility for the ensuing confusion and conflict.

However, the high court maintained a five-year prison sentence for Kim Seong-hoon, the former deputy chief of the PSS. Kim is believed to have played a crucial role in organizing resistance against the execution of the warrant. The court also sentenced Lee Kwang-wo, though specific details of his sentence were not provided in the source.