Man cleared after 42 years as court apologizes for coerced confession under torture
A man who was imprisoned in the 1980s after being tortured into making a false confession has been found not guilty in a retrial, more than four decades after his conviction. The presiding judge offered a rare and emotional apology on behalf of his judicial predecessors who ignored the man’s pleas for justice. The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division, led by Judge Kwon Hyuk-jung, acquitted Kim Dong-hyun of violating the National Security Act and the Anti-Communist Law — 42 years after the Supreme Court finalized his conviction in July 1983, sentencing him to five years in prison and five years of suspended civil rights. Before delivering the verdict, the judge addressed Kim directly. “Our senior judges never listened to your pleas,” he said. “We lacked the courage to acknowledge that your confession was coerced through torture and illegal detention. We failed to declare that the illegal martial law imposed in the 1980s violated the Constitution. I offer this apology on behalf of those judges.” As the judge spoke, Kim sat in silence, head bowed, visibly weeping. Kim became
May 22, 2025By Hankookilbo
