Supreme Court: State to Compensate 51.8 Billion Won to Victims of 'Guro Farmland Case'

Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that the state must compensate victims with 51.8 billion won in relation to the 1960s 'Guro Farmland Incident.'

On the 28th, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the final appeal of a damages claim lawsuit filed by about 40 victims, including Mr. A, against the state regarding the Guro Farmland Incident.

After liberation, Mr. A and others had lawfully received distribution of farmland in the Guro District of Seoul and had been paying redemption fees. However, in 1961, under the Park Chung-hee regime, which established the Guro Export Industrial Complex (Guro Industrial Complex), the farmland was forcibly seized.

In 1964, they filed a lawsuit against the state to claim ownership transfer registration, but the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling favoring the plaintiffs twice, resulting in the loss of land ownership.

Furthermore, at that time, the prosecution forcibly detained the farmers who filed the lawsuit and the public officials who participated as witnesses on charges of fraud, and investigations revealed that they were subjected to assault and harsh treatment while being coerced to withdraw the lawsuit and relinquish their rights.

This case was reexamined in 2008 when the Past Affairs Settlement Committee for Truth and Reconciliation determined that there were grounds for retrial. Subsequently, Mr. A and others, who were acquitted in the retrial, filed the lawsuit demanding compensation for damages equivalent to the market value of the distributed farmland.

The first trial dismissed the plaintiffs' claim. The court at that time stated, "It cannot be considered that the right to receive distributed farmland was lost due to the state's illegal acts," and "The Supreme Court ruling that the farmland distribution was illegal cannot be regarded as an unlawful judgment arising from judicial misconduct by the judges."

On the other hand, the second trial pointed out that "the government unilaterally established the Guro Industrial Complex on farmland lawfully distributed to the farmers," and "illegal acts were committed by mobilizing investigative agencies to force the relinquishment of rights to the distributed farmland." It ruled that the state must pay 51.8 billion won in damages.

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The court stated, "The lower court's ruling contains no errors affecting the judgment, such as misinterpretation of the law regarding claims for damages due to illegal acts," and dismissed the state's appeal.

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