Ministry of Justice Withdraws or Abandons Appeals in 863 Historical Cases, Pays 200 Billion Won in Compensation to Victims

2,202 Victims Receive Compensation
Ex Officio Retrials for Elderly and Deceased Victims

The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution have withdrawn appeals in state compensation lawsuits filed by victims of past human rights violations committed by state authorities, and have paid compensation totaling approximately 200 billion won to around 2,200 victims.

Ministry of Justice Building [Provided by the Ministry of Justice. Resale and database reproduction prohibited]

According to the Ministry of Justice on April 28, the government has refrained from the customary practice of filing appeals in state compensation lawsuits in order to protect the rights of victims of historical incidents. For cases already in progress, appeals have been withdrawn or abandoned. Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho has directed the comprehensive withdrawal and abandonment of appeals for major historical cases since last year. Beginning with the Brothers Home and Seongam Academy cases on August 5, 2025, he issued similar orders for the Samcheong Education Camp on September 29, and the Yeosu-Suncheon 10·19 Incident on October 13.

As of March 2026, a total of 863 cases have been completed under these measures, covering 3,587 individuals. By case, the Samcheong Education Camp accounted for the most with 608 cases (1,570 people), followed by the Brothers Home with 116 cases (756 people), the Yeosu-Suncheon 10·19 Incident with 97 cases (904 people), and Seongam Academy with 42 cases (357 people).

As a result of these measures, 2,202 victims have received a total of approximately 199.579 billion won in compensation. Over the past year, about 153.4 billion won was paid out for 157 cases (987 people), and from January to March 2026, about 46.1 billion won was paid out for 61 cases (1,215 people). By case, the Brothers Home saw the largest amount executed, totaling approximately 122.8 billion won, followed by the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident (about 38.7 billion won), Seongam Academy (about 31.2 billion won), and the Samcheong Education Camp (about 6.7 billion won).

When victims are elderly or have passed away, making it difficult for them to file for retrials themselves, the state has utilized ex officio retrials. In the case of the Jeju 4·3 Incident, as of the end of March 2026, the Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office had filed for ex officio retrials for a total of 2,288 people, including 1,747 individuals sentenced by military courts and 541 by ordinary courts, resulting in acquittals for 2,208 people. For the "Returned Fishermen from North Korea" cases, ex officio retrials were filed for 137 people in Sokcho, Gangneung, Chuncheon, and Suncheon, leading to 107 acquittals. In the case of the Yeosu-Suncheon 10·19 Incident, in November 2025, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office confirmed that all those eligible to request retrials had passed away and, for the first time, applied special retrial grounds to file for an ex officio retrial.

Efforts are also underway to correct past unjust suspended indictments. These involve cases where circumstances equivalent to grounds for a retrial were discovered, but no separate legal remedy existed, leaving a stain in the records. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office ex officio cleared Lee, who had received a suspended indictment for violating the National Security Act in 1983 for possessing "Das Kapital." The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office re-examined suspended indictment cases related to violations of the Assembly and Demonstration Act and the National Security Act and changed them to no charges. The Gyeongju Branch ex officio cleared 15 returned fishermen from North Korea of their charges.

The Ministry of Justice and the prosecution plan to review no-charge dispositions for co-defendants whose convictions have been finalized, even if they have not themselves requested retrials, by analyzing related records, the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and hearing testimonies from those involved.

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