Court Orders State Compensation of 140 Million Won to Daughter of Late Kim Jong-pil for Illegal Detention by Chun Doo-hwan's Military Regime

A court has ruled that the state must provide compensation to the daughter of the late former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, who suffered human rights violations, including the forced surrender of assets, after being illegally detained by the new military regime led by Chun Doo-hwan during the emergency martial law in 1980.
The Seoul Central District Court's Civil Settlement Division 14 (Presiding Judge Jung Ha-jung) recently ruled partially in favor of the plaintiff in a damages suit filed by Kim Ye-ri, the eldest daughter of the former Prime Minister, ordering the state to pay her 145 million won.
On the day the emergency martial law was expanded nationwide on May 17, 1980, the former Prime Minister was forcibly taken from his home after being labeled a person suspected of accumulating wealth through the abuse of power.
He was held in detention and interrogated for 47 days until July 2 of that year, and was released only on the condition that he resign from his position as a member of the National Assembly and surrender his assets.
At the time, the Martial Law Command announced, "Former Prime Minister Kim and others are individuals who have accumulated wealth through the abuse of power. They have pledged to comply with the government's purification efforts by voluntarily surrendering their assets to the state and have resigned from all public offices of their own accord."
In December 2022, after the former Prime Minister's passing, his eldest daughter, Kim, filed a request with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for an investigation into the truth regarding her father's case.
In October 2024, the commission issued a decision stating, "The state infringed upon the freedom of decision-making by coercively obtaining a resignation letter from his National Assembly seat and executing the transfer of ownership of his assets based on documents obtained through coercion."
Following this, Kim Ye-ri filed a lawsuit in January last year seeking compensation from the state, stating, "My late father suffered illegal acts such as having his assets forcibly seized and being forced to resign from his parliamentary seat, and he endured extreme mental distress after being branded as someone who accumulated wealth through the abuse of power."
The state argued in court that "the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's decision does not have the legal effect of establishing facts, and the former Prime Minister expressed his intention to voluntarily surrender his assets."
However, the court accepted the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, ruling that "investigators from the Martial Law Command's Joint Investigation Headquarters used coercive methods to force the submission of asset donation forms and the resignation letter from the National Assembly."
The court further stated, "These acts constitute illegal conduct in the performance of duties through the abuse of public power, and the state is liable to compensate for the mental distress suffered by the deceased and his family."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.