Court Re-opens Revolution Party Case

A court has decided to take another look at the People Revolution Party (PRP) case, in which Woo Hong-seon, Song Sang-jin, Seo Doh-won, Ha Jae-wan, Lee Soo-byeong, Kim Yong-won, Doh Yae-jong and Yeo Cheong-nam were sentenced to death just 18 hours after being convicted by the Supreme Court for violating the President’s emergency measures 30 years ago.

A spokesperson for the 23rd Criminal Department of the Seoul Central District Court (Senior Judge: Lee Gi-taek) said yesterday, “The investigation conducted by the Presidential Truth Commission on Suspicious Deaths (PTCOSD), which was submitted by families of the accused as new evidence, was accepted, so we decided to re-examine the first trial of the PRP case.”

If the prosecution doesn’t raise an objection against the decision within three days, the Seoul Central District Court will re-administer the PRP case.

The trial division said, “The investigation result of the PTCOSD confirms that the accused were brutally treated and tortured by investigators from the then Korean Central Intelligence Agency,” and noted that illegal acts by investigators while working on the case were enough cause for a review as stipulated by criminal procedure law.”

The trial division said, “Given that the defendant confessed more frequently and that their confessions got more specific even though there was no serious evidence against them, the period when defendants were prescribed antibiotics and painkillers at a prison and their confession period coincide, and given the statements from the people involved in the case, it is hard to see any other reason for their confessions except harsh treatment or tortures.”

Ji-Seong Jeon verso@donga.com