"Family of Late Hong Seong-rok, Falsely Accused in Hwaseong Murders, Wins Partial State Compensation"

Court Orders State to Pay 38 Million Won Each to Two Children
Only 16% of Claim Recognized; Family Plans to Appeal

A court has ruled that the state must pay 77 million won in compensation to the children of the late Hong Seong-rok, who was identified as a suspect in the Hwaseong serial murder case and subjected to coercive investigation. The bereaved family has announced their intention to appeal, arguing that the compensation amount is far too low.

According to the legal community on May 15, the Civil Division 906 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ahn Dong-cheol) ruled in a damages lawsuit filed by Hong's two children against the state, ordering the state to pay each plaintiff approximately 38 million won. The total claim had been about 470 million won, but only about 16% of that was recognized.

On the 15th, after the first trial verdict of the Lee Chun-jae wrongful murder accusation state compensation lawsuit held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, attorney Joonyoung Park, representing the children of the late Seongrok Hong who was forced to give a false confession, is giving a statement. Photo by Yonhap News.

On May 10, 1987, Hong was targeted as a suspect in the Hwaseong serial murder case and forcibly taken to the police station without a warrant. He was then detained and interrogated in isolation from the outside world for about seven days. At the time, about ten detectives took turns interrogating Hong even at night, and during this process, they assaulted him. Of the 152 hours that Hong was illegally detained, he was reportedly able to sleep for only a total of 19 hours over three occasions. Through these harsh acts, the police coerced Hong into making false confessions regarding the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Hwaseong serial murder cases.

The media revealed Hong's face, reporting that he had committed the crime out of hatred for his runaway wife and portraying him as a mentally ill person and a sexual deviant. The police, having failed to secure definitive evidence, had no choice but to release Hong, but they continued their investigation by questioning his workplace and neighbors. Eventually, Hong resigned from his job and was unable to resume a normal life. Relying on alcohol, Hong was later diagnosed with cirrhosis and liver cancer, but without a financial foundation, he was unable to receive proper treatment and died in March 2002. In 2019, Lee Chun-jae was revealed as the real perpetrator, but Hong was never able to restore his honor during his lifetime.

In March, the court recommended a settlement in which the state would pay about 180 million won to each family member, but since the defendant objected, the verdict was delivered on this day. Attorney Park Jun-young, representing Hong's family, expressed regret immediately after the ruling, stating, "We had hoped the state would show responsibility for the damage suffered by those who lived under a stigma without receiving an apology from anyone, but the verdict falls far short of those expectations."

Previously, Yoon Seong-yeo, who was also falsely accused as a suspect in the Lee Chun-jae serial murder case and served about 20 years in prison, and his family received a total state compensation of 2.17 billion won in 2022.

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