Court: "Forced informant through assault and threats... Acknowledged facts of surveillance and inspection"
Victims who were tortured and forced to act as informants (undercover agents concealing their identity) during the Jeon Du-hwan regime won the first trial in a state compensation lawsuit.
The Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 36 (Presiding Judge Hwang Soon-hyun) ruled on the 22nd in a damages lawsuit filed by pastors Lee Jong-myung and Park Man-gyu against the state, ordering "the defendant to pay each plaintiff 90 million won," partially ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
The court stated, "It is sufficiently recognized that the plaintiffs were illegally detained, subjected to assault and threats, forced to engage in informant activities, and continued to be monitored and surveilled," adding, "Based on common experience, it is acknowledged that the plaintiffs suffered physical and mental pain, and the state must pay compensation."
Pastor Lee claimed that in September 1983, when he was a candidate for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), he was taken to the 507 Security Unit without a warrant, tortured for a week during interrogation, and forced to act as an informant by monitoring fellow students and reporting on their ideology and movements.
Pastor Park also claimed that around the same time, he was taken to an apartment in Gwacheon, where the Army Security Command had a branch office, was beaten and tortured for about ten days, and forced to engage in informant activities.
They filed the lawsuit based on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's investigation of the "Forced Conscription of University Students and Informant Coercion Operation" and the truth-finding decision notice sent in December last year.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, after its investigation, judged the informant coercion operation as a serious human rights violation by public authority and recognized 187 people as victims.
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