Perjured Anki-bu Investigator Sentenced to Prison Again in Appeal Trial... "No Way to Atonement"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A former investigator of the National Security Planning Agency (NSPA) who perjured himself by denying torture during the retrial of the late labor activist Shim Jin-gu, who was accused of being a spy in connection with the National Liberation Workers' Party case, was sentenced to prison again in the second trial.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 5-2 (Presiding Judge Seokdong Yoo) on the 21st sentenced Gu Mo (77), a former NSPA investigator indicted for perjury, to 1 year and 6 months in prison, the same as the original sentence. The court criticized, "The defendant had already received a 'no prosecution' disposition due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for the inhumane crimes such as the harsh acts he committed," adding, "He had the opportunity to reveal the truth and atone to the victim without fear of criminal punishment, but he threw that chance away himself."

Gu appeared in court as a witness in April 2012 during the retrial of Shim, who had been sentenced to probation for violating the National Security Act, and perjured himself by testifying that "there was no torture." The retrial court rejected Gu's testimony and recognized that illegal detention and harsh treatment by NSPA investigators occurred during the investigation, acquitting Shim.

Previously, Shim, who was involved in labor activism, was revealed to have lived with Kim Young-hwan, a leading figure of the pro-Juche faction, for four months. In December 1986, Shim was taken to the NSPA Namsan branch without a warrant and interrogated for 37 days. The NSPA subjected Shim to harsh treatment, including beatings and sleep deprivation, to extract a confession.

The NSPA's harsh treatment was revealed when Shim confessed through a monthly magazine in 1999. Afterward, Shim requested a retrial following an investigation by the Past Affairs Committee and was acquitted in 2013. Shim passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2014 after the acquittal was finalized, and Shim's daughter filed a perjury lawsuit against Gu in March 2019, just before the statute of limitations for perjury expired.

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