SEOUL: The late Park Gi-hong, who was wrongfully jailed on espionage charges in the early 1980s, has been cleared of wrongdoing more than four decades later after a court overturned his conviction in a retrial sought by his granddaughter.
The Busan District Court on Tuesday (April 7) acquitted Park of violating the National Security Act, ruling that his remarks expressing views favourable to North Korea did not constitute benefiting the enemy. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950–53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
“Based on the evidence submitted, some of the charges against the defendant are not sustainable, and the remaining evidence does not prove that his actions violated the National Security Act,” the court said in its ruling.
Park was indicted in 1981 over comments he made to acquaintances between June 1978 and January 1981, and was sentenced later that year to two years in prison.
The remarks cited by prosecutors included statements such as “US troops should withdraw for unification,” “North Korea provides free education,” and claims that the Korean War began with South Korea firing first. He also said the North was militarily superior and would prevail in the event of war.
According to his family, Park had studied in Japan and was relaying views he had heard on Japanese broadcasts.
In an effort to clear his name, his granddaughter filed a petition in 2023 with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea, which investigates past human rights abuses and violations of democratic principles.
The commission found that investigators subjected Park to coercive interrogation, including detention without a warrant for 27 days and sleep deprivation, leading to a forced confession. In June 2024, it recommended that the family seek a retrial. - The Korea Herald/ANN
