Illegal Detention and Beating in the 'Hyeongjebokjiwon' Case... Supreme Court Reconsiders After 32 Years

Victims of the Busan Hyeongjebokjiwon attended the first emergency appeal trial regarding the special confinement charges against the late director Park In-geun at the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, last October, and are expressing their statements afterward. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court's ruling on the extraordinary appeal case related to the Busan Brothers Shelter Incident, a representative human rights violation case of the 1980s, will be announced on the 11th.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheolsang) will hold a sentencing hearing on the same day regarding the extraordinary appeal related to the special confinement charges against the late Park Ingeun, former director of the Brothers Shelter.

Established under the pretext of "reforming vagrants," the Brothers Shelter was operated like a detention facility from 1975 to 1987, where citizens were illegally confined, and allegations of forced labor, beatings, and sexual assault within the facility have been raised.

Director Park was indicted on charges including illegal confinement. However, in 1989, the Supreme Court acquitted Park, ruling that his actions were the lawful detention of vagrants under government directives at the time, thus constituting a justifiable act under criminal law. The court stated that the detention was in accordance with government directives and therefore fell under Article 20 of the Criminal Act concerning justifiable acts.

After 29 years, in 2018, Moon Moo-il, then Prosecutor General, filed an extraordinary appeal on Park's case following recommendations from the Prosecutorial Reform Committee under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. An extraordinary appeal is an emergency relief procedure where the Prosecutor General requests the Supreme Court to rehear a criminal case when illegality is found in a finalized criminal judgment.

If the Supreme Court points out problems in the past ruling on this day, the victims of the Brothers Shelter will be able to claim not only restoration of honor but also damages against the state and others based on this. However, even if the original ruling is overturned due to recognition of legal violations in the past judgment, the effect of Park's already finalized acquittal itself will not change.

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