Court Acquits Defendant in 'Nakdong Riverside Murder Case' After 31 Years

Choi In-cheol (left) and Jang Dong-ik, victims of the 'Nakdong Riverside Murder Case' who were falsely accused of murder due to police torture and endured 21 years of wrongful imprisonment, hold bouquets after being acquitted at the Busan High Court on the 4th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The victims of the 'Nakdonggang Riverside Murder Case,' who were falsely accused of murder due to police torture and imprisoned for 21 years, were acquitted 31 years after being brought to trial.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan High Court (Presiding Judge Kwak Byungsoo) acquitted Choi Incheol (60) and Jang Dongik (63) in the retrial verdict yesterday. They had been indicted on charges including robbery and murder.

The court stated, "Evidence collected through illegal arrest, illegal detention, and torture by investigators of the Saha Police Station has no evidentiary value, and the testimonies of witnesses who claimed to have seen the perpetrator lack consistency," adding, "It is difficult to acknowledge the facts of the indictment."

After the acquittal, Mr. Choi said, "I thought I would be acquitted, but I couldn't sleep for several days. I don't know what to say," and added, "I am happy and feel relieved of the false accusation, so I will live with strength by doing other work."

Regarding the police officers who tortured him at the time, he said, "How could I forgive such people? They are demons," and continued, "I thought about showing tolerance rather than revenge and opening a way for them to live, but seeing them deny everything even in court, how could I forgive such people?"

Mr. Jang said, "When I was imprisoned at 33, my wife was 29, but now my daughter is 24 and my wife is 51," emphasizing, "There should be no more people like me. Even if 100 real criminals are missed, we must not create one innocent victim."

He added, "I have a big hope that the prosecution will not just create indictments based on police investigations as they are, but will be certain and execute sentences properly."

The 'Nakdonggang Riverside Murder Case' involved a man and woman in their 30s who were threatened with a gas gun near the Nakdonggang Riverside in Saha-gu, Busan, in 1990. The woman was sexually assaulted and murdered, and the man was assaulted while fleeing.

At the time, the Saha Police Station in Busan announced Choi and Jang as the perpetrators, arrested and prosecuted them, and the two were sentenced to life imprisonment by the court.

After serving 21 years, they were released in 2013 as model prisoners and filed for a retrial at the Busan High Court in 2017.

Meanwhile, Park Junyoung, the lawyer who defended Choi and Jang, was the attorney responsible for the retrial of the Lee Chunjae 8th case in 2019, which led to the acquittal of Mr. Yoon, who was wrongfully imprisoned. He also handled retrials for cases such as the 'Iksan Yakchon Five-way Taxi Driver Murder Case' and the 'Samrye Nara Supermarket Robbery Case,' securing acquittals.

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