An innocent lifetimer?

For whom does the law exist? Can the state compensate people for their abuse at the hands of criminal authorities due to bigotry or fabrication? In the face of a life-term convict`s desperate outcry that he is innocent, we are moved to dwell on these types of questions. The 30-year-old case involving Chung Jin-Sok (not his real name), 67, which is being investigated by our paper`s judiciary team, provides insight into the ways police and prosecution authorities exercised their power in the 1970s, and what role the judiciary branch played in this regard. Shedding further light on the Chung case will hopefully provide the momentum for people to reflect on the past.

In 1972, Chung was arrested on charges of rape and murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. He remained behind bars for 15 years and two months before being released as an exemplary prisoner in 1987. But that was not all. Waiting for him was society`s cold contempt. Chung said that since his release he had led a sequestered life in remote village in the southern part of the country.

He belatedly announced that he was innocent of all charges. He claimed that he had confessed to the crime under torture by police. As if to prove his statement, a number of former convicts came forward with their insistence that he had been compelled to make a false confession. The witnesses against Chung also have reversed their testimony in the case, prompting police to arrest them on charges of perjury. Also appalling are the faulty clinical records of the medical doctor who conducted an autopsy on the victim. Dismissing Chung`s alibi, the police, prosecution and the courts found him guilty based on the findings of the National Scientific Investigation Institute.

Of course, we are not in a position to decide Chung`s guilt or innocence. Yet, the possibility remains that the truth of the case was never uncovered. What is most notable is that the circumstantial evidence and testimony that led to the conviction was disproved or withdrawn. With this in mind, we draw attention to the fact that Chung filed an appeal with the Seoul Appellate Court in November 1999 to have his case reviewed.