Prosecutors Request Retrial for Five, Including Lee So-sun, Mother of Martyr Jeon Tae-il

At the funeral of Jeon Tae-il, who self-immolated to protest for compliance with the Labor Standards Act and to expose the miserable labor conditions, his mother, Mrs. Lee So-seon, is seen clutching his portrait and crying out in anguish. Photo by Jeon Tae-il Foundation website

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The prosecution has filed retrials for five individuals, including Lee So-seon, the mother of labor activist Jeon Tae-il, who were punished for violating the Martial Law Act and other charges.

The Criminal Division 5 of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Seo In-seon) announced on the 22nd that it will file retrials ex officio for five democracy activists, including Lee So-seon, who were punished in the 1980s for violating the Martial Law Act and other charges.

Based on Supreme Court precedents, the prosecution judged that a series of acts committed by the new military regime around the December 12, 1979 military coup and the May 18, 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement constitute crimes of destroying the constitutional order.

The prosecution filed a retrial ex officio yesterday for the case in which Lee So-seon was sentenced to one year in prison by the Martial Law Ordinary Military Court of the Capital Defense Command on December 6, 1980, for violating the martial law proclamation.

At that time, Lee participated in a protest sit-in condemning the political situation and gave a speech about the miserable living conditions of workers. However, the military government investigated her while in custody, accusing her of holding an illegal assembly, and sentenced her to imprisonment. The execution of the sentence was exempted at the discretion of the commanding officer in charge.

The subjects of this retrial are mostly those who opposed the military regime by distributing leaflets and participating in protests, engaging in student movements. Two Sookmyung Women's University students who were tried for violating the martial law proclamation by publishing leaflets opposing the military regime were also included in the ex officio retrial.

Sookmyung students Yang Mo and Kim Mo were tried together at the Martial Law Ordinary Military Court for illegally publishing a leaflet titled "For the Regeneration of the Korean Nation," which contained content opposing the military regime, without prior censorship on November 9, 1980, and were sentenced to one year in prison with a suspended sentence.

In addition, Jo Mo, who was accused of violating the proclamation order for protesting against the government with a friend on May 1, 1980, while attending Chungnam National University, will undergo retrial for the suspended sentence he received at the Martial Law High Military Court (the appellate court equivalent of the Martial Law Ordinary Military Court). Lee Mo, who was sentenced to eight months in long-term imprisonment and six months in short-term imprisonment by the Martial Law Ordinary Military Court for violating the Martial Law Act by publishing "A Letter to Students" without prior censorship on June 27, 1980, when he was a high school student, will also undergo retrial procedures.