Court: "Kim Deok-ryong's 'Acquittal for Violation of Emergency Measure No. 9' Should Be Allowed for Retrial"

On August 20 last year, Kim Deok-ryong, Honorary Chairman, delivered the opening address at the Korea Peninsula Peace Economy Forum inaugural seminar held at the Federation of Korean Industries building in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A court ruling has been made that an exception should be allowed for retrial in cases where a person was prosecuted for violating emergency measures declared under the Yushin regime but was acquitted due to the lifting of the emergency measures.

An acquittal cannot be regarded as a confirmed guilty verdict and is therefore not subject to retrial under the Criminal Procedure Act, but an exception should be recognized for cases involving unconstitutional and invalid emergency measures.

If this ruling is finalized, Kim Deok-ryong, Chairman of the Kim Young-sam Democracy Center (age 79), who was acquitted of charges of violating Emergency Measure No. 9, is expected to receive a retrial after 41 years.

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 20 (Presiding Judges Kang Young-soo, Jung Moon-kyung, Lee Jae-chan) accepted Kim's immediate appeal against the dismissal of his retrial petition and decided to commence a retrial.

The court stated, "In cases like this, where an acquittal was rendered due to the lifting of the unconstitutional and invalid Emergency Measure No. 9, it is reasonable to interpret that such cases are exceptionally subject to retrial."

It added, "Emergency Measure No. 9 severely infringed on the basic rights of the people and is clearly unconstitutional, so the state needs to restore the rights and honor of those prosecuted and tried for violating it."

The court further explained, "This interpretation is part of an active legal interpretation aimed at expanding the scope of remedies. Exceptionally broadening the scope of retrial in this way does not undermine legal stability but rather aligns with the purpose of the retrial system, which is designed to realize concrete justice."

Kim served as the secretary to the late Kim Young-sam, then president of the New Democratic Party, in 1979 and was arrested and prosecuted for violating Emergency Measure No. 9 after publishing a white paper on the 'YH Trading Female Workers' Sit-in at the New Democratic Party Headquarters.'

In 2013, the Supreme Court Grand Bench ruled that Emergency Measure No. 9 was unconstitutional and invalid.

At that time, the court stated, "Emergency Measure No. 9 excessively restricted or infringed upon the constitutionally guaranteed basic rights of the people and is invalid under both the Yushin Constitution and the current Constitution. All rulings and decisions that upheld the constitutionality of Emergency Measure No. 9 are hereby overturned."

With Emergency Measure No. 9 declared unconstitutional and invalid, the court acquitted Kim in another case involving violation of Emergency Measure No. 9 through retrial.

Kim had previously been sentenced to 10 months in prison for distributing poems by poet Kim Ji-ha in 1976, violating Emergency Measure No. 9, but was later relieved through retrial.

However, the court dismissed Kim's retrial petition for the 1979 case in February.

This was because Emergency Measure No. 9 was lifted a week before Kim's first trial sentencing on December 8, 1979, resulting in an acquittal.

An acquittal is a judgment that terminates criminal proceedings due to reasons such as the expiration of the statute of limitations or the abolition of the penalty by changes in laws after the crime.

Since Article 420 of the Criminal Procedure Act allows retrial petitions only for 'confirmed guilty verdicts,' acquittals are generally not subject to retrial.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.