Court Orders 2.5 Billion KRW Criminal Compensation to Yoon Seong-yeo for 'Lee Chun-jae 8th Case False Accusation'

On the afternoon of December 17 last year, at the Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Yoon Seong-yeo, the petitioner for retrial in the 8th serial murder case of Lee Chun-jae, was acquitted and is seen leaving the courtroom.
[Photo by Joint Press Corps] [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Yoon Seong-yeo (54), who was wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years after being accused as the culprit of the 8th case in the Lee Chun-jae serial murder series, will receive criminal compensation worth approximately 2.5 billion KRW.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Suwon District Court decided on the payment of criminal compensation amounting to about 2.517 billion KRW to Yoon, who was acquitted through a retrial on the 19th of last month.

The right to claim criminal compensation guaranteed by Article 28 of the Constitution allows a person who was detained as a criminal suspect or defendant to claim fair compensation from the state according to the law when they receive a non-prosecution disposition or a not guilty verdict as prescribed by law. This right is recognized separately from the state compensation claim for damages against the state for illegal acts committed by public officials in the course of their duties.

Article 2 (Conditions for Compensation) Paragraph 1 of the Act on Criminal Compensation and Restoration of Honor (Criminal Compensation Act) states, "When a defendant in a case confirmed by a not guilty judgment through general procedures under the Criminal Procedure Act, retrial, or extraordinary appeal procedures has been detained pending trial, they may claim compensation from the state for that detention under this Act."

Also, Article 5 (Contents of Compensation) Paragraph 1 of the same law stipulates that "When compensating for detention, compensation shall be paid according to the number of days detained, at a rate not less than the daily minimum wage under the Minimum Wage Act for the year in which the claim arose, and not exceeding the amount prescribed by Presidential Decree."

Article 2 (Limit of Compensation) of the Enforcement Decree of the Criminal Compensation Act sets the limit of compensation at five times the daily minimum wage under the Minimum Wage Act for the year the claim arose.

Yoon’s side calculated the amount of compensation to claim based on these legal standards.

Since the minimum daily wage (for 8 hours of work) based on last year’s minimum wage, when Yoon was acquitted, was 68,720 KRW, the minimum daily wage eligible for claim is 343,600 KRW.

Furthermore, from July 25, 1989, when Yoon was arrested without a warrant by the police and sentenced to life imprisonment at trial, until his parole from Cheongju Prison on August 14, 2009, the total days of detention amounted to 7,326 days.

Accordingly, Yoon’s side is known to have claimed criminal compensation by multiplying the minimum daily wage (343,600 KRW) by the number of detention days (7,326 days).

The court accepted Yoon’s claim as is and decided to pay the maximum criminal compensation allowed by law.

The court stated, "Considering the types and periods of detention recorded, the extent of losses suffered during detention, mental suffering, and circumstances that were the substantive reasons for the not guilty verdict, it is reasonable to set the compensation amount for the claimant at the maximum amount prescribed by law for all days of detention."

This court decision was finalized on the 5th with the confirmation certificate from Yoon’s side.

In addition to the criminal compensation claim, Yoon’s side plans to file a state compensation claim demanding damages for illegal arrest, detention, assault, and mistreatment by investigative agencies at the time, as well as compensation for the mental suffering of his family.

Article 6 (Relationship with Damage Compensation) Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Compensation Act states, "This Act does not prohibit a person entitled to compensation from claiming damages under other laws."

On the 13th of last month, the Seoul Central District Court recognized 1.3 billion KRW in compensation liability in a lawsuit filed by Choi Mo (37), who was wrongfully imprisoned as the culprit in the Yakchon Five-way Intersection case, against the state, police officers, and prosecutors. Choi received about 840 million KRW in criminal compensation in 2017.

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