Prosecutors demand 15 years for former interior minister accused of assisting martial law declaration
Published: 12 Jan. 2026, 17:33
Updated: 12 Jan. 2026, 19:02
![Former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min sits in the defendant’s seat at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Oct. 17, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/12/713d3891-3a0e-47c8-8764-f8ce8b77d498.jpg)
Former Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min sits in the defendant’s seat at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Oct. 17, 2025. [YONHAP]
Prosecutors from the special counsel investigating the insurrection case demanded a 15-year prison sentence for Lee Sang-min, the former interior and safety minister, accusing him of aiding the martial law declaration of Dec. 3, 2024, by ordering police and fire authorities to cut power and water to media outlets.
The special counsel made the request on Monday during the sentencing hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul.
“The defendant served as a judge for 14 years and later worked as a lawyer at a major law firm, making him one of the country’s top legal experts,” the special counsel team said. “Despite recognizing the illegality of the martial law, he abandoned his duty and took part in crimes that undermined the constitutional order.
"He served as interior and safety minister, overseeing public safety and disaster policy and with the Korean National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency under his authority, yet he proceeded with the alleged acts.”
Prosecutors indicted Lee in pretrial detention on Aug. 19 last year, accusing him of failing to prevent what they described as an illegal declaration of martial law and effectively aiding it through inaction. The interior ministry is the main government body responsible for administering martial law in peacetime.
Lee also faces charges for allegedly joining former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection step by step, including ordering police and fire authorities to cut power and water to media outlets.
The indictment includes perjury charges as well. Prosecutors accuse Lee of falsely testifying during a Constitutional Court impeachment hearing in February last year, where he claimed he neither issued orders to cut power and water nor received such instructions from Yoon.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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