An 80-Year-Old Imprisoned for Criticizing Park Chung-hee at a Barber Shop Declared 'Not Guilty' After 48 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] An man in his 80s who was imprisoned for criticizing the Park Chung-hee regime in 1972 was acquitted after 48 years.

On the 28th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Chief Judge Seongyoung Ma) overturned the original verdict and acquitted Kim (84), who had been convicted of violating the Martial Law Act, in a retrial.

Kim was handed over to a military court for allegedly making statements such as "The armored vehicles of the martial law troops in front of the National Assembly are in shooting position; will they shoot the people or the communists?" at a barbershop in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on October 22, 1972, when emergency martial law was declared under the Yushin dictatorship. He was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial, and the sentence was reduced to three months in the second trial. He gave up appealing, finalizing the sentence.

The martial law proclamation issued at the time included prohibitions on indoor and outdoor gatherings and demonstrations for political activities, bans on fabrication and dissemination of rumors, prior censorship of the media, and university closures.

However, last year, the prosecution requested a retrial, arguing that the martial law proclamation, which was the basis for Kim's punishment, was unconstitutional from the start, and the court accepted this.

The court explained, "The martial law proclamation was issued without meeting the activation requirements set by the Constitution and laws and infringes on the basic rights of the people," adding, "Since the martial law proclamation was unconstitutional and invalid from the beginning, Kim's charges are not crimes."