Park Jong-joon, former Minister of the Presidential Security Service, who was brought to trial on charges of deleting the secure-phone accounts of figures including Hong Jang-won, former Vice Administrator of the National Intelligence Service, after the Dec. 3 martial law, was acquitted at the first trial. The court said there were doubts about whether the Presidential Security Service's measures were appropriate, but found it hard to conclude there was an intent to destroy evidence.
The Criminal Agreement Division 32 of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge Ryu Kyung-jin) on the 21st acquitted the former minister Park of the charge of destruction of evidence. Earlier, the special counsel investigating the insurrection case sought a three-year prison term for the former minister Park.
The court found that deleting the secure-phone account had shortcomings as a security measure. However, it determined that the intent to destroy evidence required for criminal punishment was not sufficiently proven. The court said, "The National Intelligence Service (NIS) changed the electronic information password on the former vice administrator Hong's secure phone, so it is true there are doubts about whether the Presidential Security Service's measures were appropriate."
At the same time, it said, "The Presidential Security Service, with less technical understanding than the National Intelligence Service (NIS), carried out a user account deletion measure that was effective among security measures." Even if the Presidential Security Service's remote logout of the secure phone or deletion of the account consequently led to deletion of electronic information such as call records, the court indicated it is difficult to immediately conclude that this was an act to destroy evidence.
The court also cited the instructions of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the response process of the former minister Park as grounds for acquittal. On Dec. 7, 2024, the former president Yoon instructed the deletion of electronic information of external subscribers, but the former minister Park refused two days later, saying it would be automatically deleted, it was found. The court determined that, considering that after this the former president Yoon discussed handling measures with Kim Sung-hoon, former Vice Minister of the Presidential Security Service, while excluding the former minister Park, it is difficult to find the indictment facts proven.
The former minister Park was indicted on charges of remotely deleting the secure-phone call histories of the former president Yoon, the former vice minister Hong, and Kim Bong-shik, former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner, on Dec. 6, 2024. A secure phone is a mobile phone equipped with security functions so that call contents are not exposed externally.
The special counsel believed that the former minister Park contacted Cho Tae-yong, former National Intelligence Service (NIS) director, at the time to ask about the possibility of retrieving the former vice minister Hong's secure phone, and, after hearing that retrieval would be difficult, processed a remote logout of the secure phone. The special counsel assessed that in this process, electronic information such as call records with the former president Yoon was deleted together.
The former vice minister Hong had submitted a resignation letter to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) at the time and was scheduled to return the secure phone to the NIS security department as soon as the dismissal process was completed. However, it was found that the remote measure was carried out after the former director Cho told the former minister Park that the whereabouts of the former vice minister Hong could not be determined and contact could not be made, making retrieval seem difficult.