The Supreme Court has ruled that the state is responsible for compensating victims of a 1975 decree issued by the Park Chung-hee government which enabled the violent crackdown of anti-government activists.
Describing the decree as unconstitutional and also illegal under civil law, the top court on Tuesday ordered the Seoul High Court to retry the case, stating the state is liable to compensate victims who were detained, arrested and punished at that time.
The latest verdict, reached in en banc session, concerns a compensation lawsuit filed by 71 plaintiffs, consisting of victims and their family.
The ruling also reverses the top court’s previous decision issued seven years ago regarding state liability involving the same presidential decree. The 2015 ruling had said the decree was a political act of the state and such exercise of power by the president cannot be seen as illegal under civil law.
The Park Chung-hee government, which seized power in a military coup and sought to extend its reign, issued Presidential Emergency Decree Number Nine in May 1975 to prohibit anti-government activities, with violators subject to imprisonment of more than one year.
Source: KBS World Radio