Refusing Court Order to Submit CCTV Footage... Victims Express Fury at Being Treated 'Like Cargo'

[Anchor]

A foreign national who stayed at a foreigner detention center has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government, claiming to have been assaulted by a social service agent. However, despite a court order, the government is refusing to submit key evidence, which is the CCTV footage from the time of the incident.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the story.

[Reporter]

In November of the year before last, a person of Algerian nationality, identified as A, who was staying at the Hwaseong Foreigner Detention Center, claimed to have been assaulted by a social service agent and filed a state compensation lawsuit seeking 3 million won against the Republic of Korea late last year.

The claim states that the agent headbutted A's forehead and grabbed A by the back of the neck because A failed to comply with an instruction to go into the PC room.

In June of this year, prosecutors issued a summary indictment for the social service agent on assault charges, seeking a fine of 500,000 won.

Deeming the analysis data of the CCTV footage from that time to be key evidence for the compensation lawsuit, A applied to the court for the submission of the materials. The court accepted this and ordered the South Korean government to submit them in July.

[A / Victim of Assault at Hwaseong Foreigner Detention Center: It is not that I expect people to believe my words simply because I am a victim. I want the CCTV to speak for itself.]

However, the government appealed the order, claiming that there is no obligation to submit it under the Civil Procedure Act and that the footage is not necessary evidence for determining state liability for compensation.

Kim Jin-joo, the victim of the Busan roundhouse kick case who had filed a state compensation lawsuit arguing that the investigative agency's shoddy investigation worked in favor of the perpetrator, experienced a similar situation.

Kim's side requested the perpetrator's DNA appraisal data, stating it was necessary for the state compensation lawsuit, but most of the documents sent by the prosecutors were blackened out, making it impossible to check the key details.

Citing privacy protection and investigative security, the reasons are difficult for the victim to accept.

[Kim Jin-joo / Victim of Busan Roundhouse Kick Case: We are not even the lead actors; we are extras. Victims cannot get information anywhere. (The state) is treating us like cargo.]

[Oh Ji-won / Lawyer: Even the evidence that victims must secure in order to receive remedies for their rights is solely decided at the discretion of (the court and prosecutors) whether to give it or not, causing considerable difficulty...]

Experts point out that when a crime is proven and a lawsuit against the state is underway, institutional improvements are needed in a direction that substantially guarantees victims' rights.

(Camera Cooperation: Lee Moo-jin | Video Editing: Lee So-young | Design: Lee Jong-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.