Court: Government that obstructed Sewol ferry investigation must pay compensation to Special Investigation Committee members

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] A court ruling has ordered the state to pay compensation to the members of the 4·16 Sewol Ferry Disaster Special Investigation Committee, who were obstructed by the government during the Park Geun-hye administration.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 12 (Presiding Judge Hong Soon-wook) recently ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by Special Investigation Committee members Kwon Young-bin and Park Jong-woon against the state for "claiming payment of public official salaries," ordering the state to pay each member 10 million KRW in damages.

The two members filed a lawsuit for damages in September last year, claiming that they were stripped of their public official status due to the government's illegal forced dissolution and that their investigative activities were obstructed by senior public officials.

The court stated, "Former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Young-seok, former Vice Minister Yoon Hak-bae, and former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun abused their authority to obstruct the committee's activities," adding, "Such actions were illegal and caused mental damages to the plaintiffs."

Furthermore, the court explained, "Former Minister Kim and others reinstated public officials belonging to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to halt the preparation for the establishment of the Special Investigation Committee and confiscated office equipment," and "They processed the retirement of the Special Investigation Committee's standing members on October 1, 2016, upon the expiration of their terms, and promulgated an enforcement decree based on a budget significantly reduced compared to the committee's own budget plan."

Former Minister Kim, former Vice Minister Yoon, and former Secretary Cho were all sentenced to suspended prison terms in June last year and have appealed; the second trial is currently underway at the Seoul High Court.

The court also accepted the plaintiffs' claim that the expiration of the Special Investigation Committee members' terms in September 2016 was unjust and ruled that the state must pay each member approximately 40 million KRW in unpaid wages.

The activities of the Special Investigation Committee began on August 4, 2015, when the budget was approved at the State Council meeting. According to relevant laws, the term of Special Investigation Committee members is one year, but the court ruled that, based on the committee's resolution to extend the term by six months, the activity period should be recognized until May 3, 2017.