Panoramic view of Seoul Central District Court and Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul./Chosun DB
A court ruled that the government must compensate 1.1 billion won to 24 victims and their families who were detained at Samcheong Education University in the early 1980s.
According to the legal community on the 16th, the 33rd Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Jun-seo) ruled on the 14th that “the state must pay a total of 1.1 billion won to the plaintiffs” in a lawsuit seeking state compensation filed by victims of Samcheong Education University and their families. Accordingly, the state must compensate the seven victims who were taken to Samcheong Education University from a minimum of 10 million won to a maximum of 200 million won. Their siblings and children each received between 2 million and 53 million won.
The court said, “The victims were illegally detained by state agencies and subjected to harsh treatment, including forced labor, for a considerable period of time. Considering social perceptions (of Samcheong Education University), it appears that their families also suffered considerable mental pain.” He said.
The victims were illegally arrested by the police between 1980 and 1982, and then received so-called ‘purification education’ at the Samcheong Education Center established at the military base. At the time, the government imposed martial law under the pretext of ‘wiping out hoodlums’, arrested over 60,000 people without warrants, and confined the majority to Samcheong Education Center. The victims were forced to undergo guerrilla training and self-reflection education here. They suffered from labor such as road repair and camp construction, and were also confined in protective detention centers for one to two years.
The court ruled that the state’s responsibility for compensation to the victims and their families was recognized in accordance with the Supreme Court precedent that ruled that the martial law declaration, which was the basis for the establishment of Samcheong Education University, was illegal.
The court said, “The victims were arrested and detained without a warrant, and their physical freedom and dignity as human beings were violated. This was an illegal act in the course of their duties that abused public power, and the public official’s intention and negligence can be recognized.”
The state argued that the victims could not file a lawsuit because the statute of limitations (3 years) for damages had expired, but the court did not accept this. The decision by the Past Affairs Review Committee to uncover the truth about the victims of this incident was made in February of last year. The court ruled that the statute of limitations should be calculated from the time the decision of the Past Affairs Review Committee is delivered.
The court explained, “In cases where public officials systematically and intentionally committed serious human rights violations, the need to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents was considered an important factor in calculating compensation.”
2024-03-16 08:10:00
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