▲ Park Chong-jun, former chief of the Presidential Security Service, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on May 21, 2026, to attend the sentencing hearing of his trial on evidence destruction charges. (Yonhap)

ex-presidential security chief-trial

Court acquits ex-presidential security chief of evidence destruction

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- A court on Thursday acquitted a former chief of the Presidential Security Service of destroying evidence related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law by deleting data from secure phones used by Yoon and other officials.

Park Chong-jun had been indicted on charges of deleting data from phones used by Yoon, then National Intelligence Service deputy director Hong Jang-won and then Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Bong-sik to cover up the failed martial law bid in December 2024.

The Seoul Central District Court, however, ruled there was not enough evidence to convict him of the charge.

A special counsel team had requested a three-year prison term for Park.

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