AFP/File – File photo shows a poster of former South Korean president Park Chung-Hee and his wife in Seoul. A Seoul …
SEOUL (AFP) – A Seoul court on Thursday awarded three former dissidents and their families some $6.3 million in damages for their suffering from false subversion charges under a past authoritarian government.
The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to pay the compensation to the victims of the "false" charges fabricated through "unlawful means including torture".
Lee Gang-Chul and two others were arrested in 1974 for allegedly planning to start a riot to topple then President Park Chung-Hee's authoritarian regime.
They were said to have taken orders from an "underground" communist network in South Korea and a pro-Pyongyang group in Japan.
The three were sentenced to 15 years in jail in 1975. Lee served more than seven years and the two others served 33 months and 11 months respectively before being released on parole.
Lee later served as a presidential aide under the administration of the late President Roh Moo-Hyun, after South Korea restored democracy.
"Investigators extracted false confessions through overnight questioning, torture and threats. They were also found guilty because of false or flimsy evidence," the court said in a statement.
The then Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) played a leading role in fabricating false charges against the dissidents, the statement said.
The victims and 28 of their family members sought a retrial at the recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a committee established to investigate past human rights abuses.
They filed a damage suit last year against the government, seeking 8.3 billion won ($7.4 million).
2011/01/13 09:30 KST
Dissidents, family get W7.1 bln compensation from state for false subversion charge
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court ordered the government to pay three dissidents and their families some 7.1 billion won (US$6.3 million) in compensation for their suffering from false subversion charges under the military government of the 1970s, court officials said Thursday.
Lee Gang-chul, a former presidential aide under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and two other liberal activists were arrested and indicted in 1974 on charges of masterminding a riot at the order of an underground communist organization and pro-Pyongyang group in Japan. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail by a top court in 1975 and served their terms ranging from 11 months to more than seven years, then later released on parole.
The victims and their 28 family members sought a retrial at the recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a special committee established to investigate past human rights atrocities, and filed a suit last year against the government seeking 8.3 billion in reparations after being acquitted of the charges.
The Seoul Central District Court said law enforcement agencies violated due process when arresting the defendants and had taken their confessions under duress. Also, evidence backing the subversion charge was insufficient and unconvincing, it said.
"The state should compensate the people directly concerned and their family members for the damage caused by the illegal conduct," the court said in a ruling.
The compensation includes 2.5 billion won in principal plus accumulated interest over 30 years, which amounts to 4.6 billion won.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court ordered the government to pay three dissidents and their families some 7.1 billion won (US$6.3 million) in compensation for their suffering from false subversion charges under the military government of the 1970s, court officials said Thursday.
Lee Gang-chul, a former presidential aide under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and two other liberal activists were arrested and indicted in 1974 on charges of masterminding a riot at the order of an underground communist organization and pro-Pyongyang group in Japan. They were sentenced to 15 years in jail by a top court in 1975 and served their terms ranging from 11 months to more than seven years, then later released on parole.
The victims and their 28 family members sought a retrial at the recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a special committee established to investigate past human rights atrocities, and filed a suit last year against the government seeking 8.3 billion in reparations after being acquitted of the charges.
The Seoul Central District Court said law enforcement agencies violated due process when arresting the defendants and had taken their confessions under duress. Also, evidence backing the subversion charge was insufficient and unconvincing, it said.
"The state should compensate the people directly concerned and their family members for the damage caused by the illegal conduct," the court said in a ruling.
The compensation includes 2.5 billion won in principal plus accumulated interest over 30 years, which amounts to 4.6 billion won.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
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