Falsely Accused of Espionage Under Chun Doo-hwan Regime... Prosecutors Seek Not Guilty Verdict in Posthumous Retrial of Moon Cheol-tae

Accused of Meeting with Chongryon While Working as a Dispatched Teacher
Retrial Granted After Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Investigation

Eight years after the death of a victim in a "fabricated spy case" orchestrated by the National Security Planning Agency (now the National Intelligence Service) during the Chun Doo-hwan regime, the prosecution has requested a not guilty verdict in a retrial. The deceased had refused to act as an informant for the agency at the time, was falsely accused of espionage, served 13 years in prison, and ultimately died from the aftereffects of torture.

On May 20, the 13th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (presiding judge: Lee Jungho, senior judge) held the closing hearing of the posthumous retrial for the late Moon Cheol-tae, who had previously been sentenced to life imprisonment for violating the Anti-Communist Law. During the hearing, the prosecution requested that the court find Moon not guilty.

Exterior view of Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office.

During the Chun Doo-hwan administration, Moon was a teacher dispatched from the Ministry of Education (then the Ministry of Culture and Education) and worked at the Geumgang Academy in Osaka, Japan. He was convicted of meeting with the principal of a school affiliated with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), and was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1985 in the first trial for allegedly associating with members of an anti-state organization.

However, it was later revealed that this case had been fabricated by the National Security Planning Agency. Investigations showed that the agency attempted to recruit Moon as an informant while he was working in Japan, but when he refused, both Moon and his son were falsely accused of being members of an anti-state organization.

Moon was taken to the agency, where he was illegally detained and tortured. After serving 13 years in prison, he was released on parole in 1998. He suffered from the aftereffects of torture throughout his life and ultimately passed away in 2018.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded in 2024 that the case was a deliberate fabrication by the agency, officially recognizing the wrongful nature of the charges and recommending a retrial.

Moon's son, Moon Young-seok, who was studying in Japan at the time, was also falsely accused as a member of the so-called "family spy ring." He was sentenced to seven years in prison and served five, but was acquitted in a retrial held on January 22 of this year at the Gwangju High Court, following the Commission's findings.

The court has completed the arguments and is scheduled to announce its verdict in the retrial of the late Moon Cheol-tae on June 10.

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