The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution are refraining from appealing national compensation lawsuits and expanding ex officio retrials to protect the rights of victims of past crimes. The prosecution plans to actively cite the initiation of retrials for human rights violation cases that have received final rulings in the past and shift its approach to seeking acquittal or exoneration in cases where retrials have been initiated.
According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution filed appeals for a total of 863 cases (3,587 people) from January 2025 to March of this year, including 116 cases (756 people) at Brothers Welfare Center, 42 cases (357 people) at Seongam Academy, 608 cases (1,570 people) at Samcheong Education University, and 97 cases (904 people) at Yeosu and Suncheon October 19. I withdrew and gave up. As a result, 2,202 victims received a total of 199.579 billion won in compensation.
◆Of the recent retrial cases, 59% were found not guilty or acquitted.
As a result of the prosecution’s request for an ex officio retrial, 2,208 people were found not guilty in the Jeju April 3 incident and 107 people were found not guilty in the abducted fisherman case. In particular, in the case of the Yeosu and Suncheon 10/19 incidents, the prosecution for the first time requested an ex officio retrial based on grounds for a special retrial after confirming that all of the persons entitled to request a retrial had died.
The prosecution is also actively seeking citations to initiate a retrial. Recently, the number of retrial cases filed with the prosecution is on the rise. The number of retrials related to past public security cases filed with the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office increased approximately six-fold, from 23 in 2023 to 137 last year. The number of cases in which retrials were initiated also more than doubled from 23 to 49. Kim Tae-hoon, the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, said in a briefing on the 27th of last month, “We presented citations for 91 (41.7%) of the 218 applications for retrials received by the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office and the Central District Prosecutors’ Office within the past three years, and requested acquittal or exoneration for 63 (58.8%) of the 107 cases where retrials were decided.”
◆Prosecution: “Actively provide relief to citizens affected by illegal investigation”
The prosecution plans to proactively improve its approach to retrial work, including seeking ways to secure data to confirm illegal detention. In the case of a retrial, the claimant must prove that an illegal act occurred, but there have been constant criticisms that there are limitations in securing data if the case records have expired after the retention period or if the claimant is old. The prosecution plans to directly verify the possibility of illegal detention of the defendant by securing and analyzing data and materials such as the verdict.
The prosecution also took action to restore the victim’s honor by canceling the existing suspended indictment. Among past cases, circumstances equivalent to grounds for retrial were found, but cases that were suspended indictment due to lack of rights relief procedures will be changed to ‘no charges’ through the deferred prosecution reinstatement process. In addition, the prosecution plans to consider a ‘disposition of no charges’ if the convicted accomplice has not requested a retrial or is in the midst of a retrial, if a decision can be made based on analysis of records and investigation results, hearing statements from those involved, etc.
In addition, if the court decides to initiate a retrial even though the prosecution has presented an opinion to dismiss the retrial, the appeal will be carefully considered considering the possibility of citation and the need to restore the reputation of the retrial applicant. In retrial cases, evidence will be reviewed before the first trial, and in cases where a verdict of not guilty or acquitted is expected, a decision will be made on the first trial date.
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