Court Rules State to Compensate 300 Million KRW to Late Park Gwan-hyeon Martyr's Family

On the morning of the 12th, a memorial ceremony for Martyr Park Gwan-hyeon, who led school democratization and anti-dictatorship democratic struggles, was held at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court has ruled that the state must compensate the family of the late martyr Park Gwanhyeon, who led the student movement as the president of the Jeonnam National University student council during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and passed away in prison.

On the afternoon of the 19th, the Civil Division 15 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Choi Gyuyeon) partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the first trial of a damages lawsuit filed by nine family members of Martyr Park against the state. The court awarded 300 million KRW in consolation damages to Martyr Park himself and ruled that this amount should be distributed according to the inheritance shares of the family members.

Previously, Martyr Park, as the president of the Jeonnam National University student council in 1980, led student movements both inside and outside the campus advocating for academic autonomy and anti-dictatorship democratization struggles. He evaded arrest by working in factories around Seoul for about a year while in hiding but was arrested in April 1982 and endured torture and other hardships.

While imprisoned, Martyr Park conducted a hunger strike for over 40 days demanding the truth about the May 18 incident and improvements in prison conditions, but he passed away on October 12 of that year at the age of 29.

The family filed a lawsuit against the state in November last year. In May of last year, the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional the legal provision that prevented those who had received compensation from the state for damages related to the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement from filing damages lawsuits.

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