Supreme Court Rules "Geochang Incident" State Compensation Claims Not Subject to Long-Term Statute of Limitations

Exclusion of 5-Year Long-Term Prescription... Only Short-Term Prescription Applicable
Considering Constitutional Court's Unconstitutionality Ruling on Article 766(2) of the Civil Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The Supreme Court has ruled that the long-term statute of limitations of "5 years from the date of the tort" does not apply to the claim for damages against the state by victims of the 'Geochang Civilian Massacre Incident' that occurred in 1951.

Relatives who had been blocked from claiming damages because the victims and their families were already determined through a related special law and thus excluded from the truth investigation by the Past Affairs Settlement Committee can now receive relief.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) overturned the lower court's ruling that dismissed the claims of relatives A and B of the Geochang incident victims, who each sought 40 million won and 20 million won in consolation damages from the state, and remanded the case to the Busan District Court.

The court stated, "The Geochang incident corresponds to 'a civilian mass sacrifice incident unlawfully committed during the period from August 15, 1945, to around the Korean War,' as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Past Affairs Settlement Act, considering its timing, content, and nature," and added, "Therefore, the plaintiffs' claims for damages in this case are not subject to the long-term statute of limitations under Article 766, Paragraph 2 of the Civil Act and the former Accounting Act Article 32, due to the constitutional court's ruling declaring that provision unconstitutional. Only the subjective starting point and the short-term statute of limitations under Article 766, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Act can apply."

Furthermore, the court pointed out, "Nevertheless, the lower court applied the provisions invalidated by the constitutional court's ruling to the plaintiffs' claims for damages for the reasons stated, which is a misapplication of the law on the statute of limitations that affected the judgment."

The State Compensation Act applies Articles 166 and 766 of the Civil Act regarding the statute of limitations.

Article 166, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Act sets the starting point of the statute of limitations as "the time when the right can be exercised." Article 766, Paragraph 1 states, "The claim for damages due to a tort shall be extinguished by prescription if the victim or their legal representative does not exercise the right within three years from the date they became aware of the damage and the tortfeasor," establishing a short-term statute of limitations. Paragraph 2 stipulates, "The same applies if ten years have passed since the date of the tort," establishing a long-term statute of limitations.

For claims against the state, the short-term statute of limitations of "3 years from the date of awareness" applies as is, but the long-term statute of limitations is five years, not ten, according to the State Finance Act (formerly the Accounting Act).

Article 96, Paragraph 1 of the State Finance Act sets the statute of limitations for the state's monetary claims at five years, and Paragraph 2 sets the statute of limitations for the state's monetary debts also at five years.

The Geochang incident occurred in 1951 in the Sinwon-myeon area of Geochang County, Gyeongnam Province, during the Korean War. After guerrillas from Jirisan attacked police and others causing significant damage, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 11th Division of the Army massacred hundreds of local residents from February 9 to 11 of the same year.

In January 1996, the National Assembly enacted the "Special Measures Act on the Restoration of Honor for Persons Related to the Geochang Incident," determining the victims and their families. However, compensation regulations for the victims were not established at that time, and although an amendment including compensation provisions passed the National Assembly in 2004, it was not implemented due to a veto by then Acting President Ko Gun.

Subsequently, the "Basic Act on Past Affairs Settlement for Truth and Reconciliation" was enacted, and the Past Affairs Settlement Committee was active, but victims whose deaths and families had already been determined under the Geochang Special Act were excluded from the truth investigation.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit were persons recognized as relatives of the Geochang incident victims by the review committee established under the 1998 Geochang Special Act (one plaintiff died during the lawsuit, and their child inherited the claim). They filed a lawsuit in 2017 demanding compensation for the mental suffering caused by the Geochang incident committed by the national military.

However, both the first and second trials accepted the state's argument that the statute of limitations had already expired.

In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in a state compensation claim filed by relatives of the Geochang incident victims that to prevent the state's claim of long-term statute of limitations as an abuse of rights, the right must have been exercised within three years from June 30, 2010, the end date of the Past Affairs Settlement Committee's activities. According to this, the statute of limitations had already expired.

The court stated, "The reasonable period for victims recognized as deceased or relatives in the Geochang incident to exercise their right to claim damages against the state should be limited to a short period, similar to the suspension of the statute of limitations under the Civil Act for civilian victims of incidents around the Korean War with truth investigation decisions. Even in special circumstances where extension is unavoidable, it should not exceed three years. Therefore, the plaintiffs' claim for consolation damages for mental suffering due to the Geochang incident is considered extinguished by prescription around June 30, 2013, three years after June 30, 2010."

However, the Supreme Court overturned these first and second trial rulings.

After this Supreme Court ruling, in August 2018, the Constitutional Court ruled that applying the long-term statute of limitations under Article 766, Paragraph 2 of the Civil Act to state compensation claims related to civilian mass sacrifice incidents under Article 2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Past Affairs Settlement Act is unconstitutional, which had been overlooked.

The court explained, "The effect of the Constitutional Court's unconstitutionality ruling applies even to lawsuits claiming compensation for damages caused by unlawful official duties in civilian mass sacrifice incidents under Article 2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Past Affairs Settlement Act that were ongoing in courts at the time of the ruling. Therefore, the 10-year statute of limitations under Article 766, Paragraph 2 of the Civil Act or the 5-year statute of limitations under Article 96, Paragraph 2 of the State Finance Act (formerly Article 32 of the Accounting Act) do not apply to such claims."

Last month, the Supreme Court applied the same legal principle in a ruling that overturned and remanded a damages claim lawsuit filed by Kang Ki-hoon and his family against the state for wrongful imprisonment in the "forged will case."

A Supreme Court official said, "This ruling is significant in declaring that the Geochang incident, where victims and relatives were determined under the Geochang Special Act but no truth investigation decision was made under the Past Affairs Settlement Act, can still be considered a civilian mass sacrifice incident as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3 of the Past Affairs Settlement Act," and added, "After remand, the issue of the state's liability for damages related to the Geochang incident will be re-examined and judged."

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