Ministry of Justice Withdraws Appeal for State Compensation in 'Nakdong Riverside Murder Case'

Choi In-cheol (left), a victim of the 'Nakdong Riverside Murder Case' who was wrongfully imprisoned for 21 years after being falsely accused of murder due to police torture, and Jang Dong-ik are speaking about their feelings after the retrial verdict hearing held on the morning of February 4 last year at the Busan High Court.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Ministry of Justice has decided not to appeal the state compensation ruling for the victims of the 'Nakdong Riverside Murder Case,' who were wrongfully imprisoned for over 20 years after being falsely accused of police torture.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Justice announced, "We have decided to forgo the appeal to ensure swift recovery for the victims."

On the 28th of last month, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 23 (Presiding Judge Kim Dongbin) ruled that the state must pay a total of over 7.2 billion won in compensation to victims Jang Dongik (64) and Choi Incheol (61), who were wrongfully convicted of robbery and murder.

Previously, in January 1990, a man and woman dating by the Nakdong Riverside were kidnapped by assailants; the woman was sexually assaulted and murdered, and the man was injured. Jang and Choi were identified as suspects in this case.

They claimed from the start of the prosecution investigation that they had been tortured by the police and forced to give false confessions, but were ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment.

They served 21 years in prison and were released in 2013 as model prisoners.

At that time, Choi's brother-in-law testified that Choi was at his wife's family home in Daegu on the day of the incident but was arrested for perjury, and Choi's spouse was also detained for perjury inducement. Both were sentenced to suspended prison terms in the first trial and were imprisoned for two months and one month respectively before being released.

In 2019, the Past Affairs Committee of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that the case had been fabricated. Through a retrial, the two were acquitted in February of last year. The acquittal was finalized without prosecution appeal.

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