Court: "Bereaved family knew of state's illegal act but did not file lawsuit within 3 years"
The bereaved families of the May 18 Democratic Movement lost their appeal for mental damages against the state due to the statute of limitations.
The Civil Division 2 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Yang Young-hee) on the 28th partially revised the amount of consolation money recognized in the first trial for some plaintiffs in the appeal case filed by 14 plaintiffs, including the parties and bereaved families, against the state for 'May 18 Democratic Movement consolation money claim.' The court recognized payment of 40 million to 90 million KRW per person as exclusive consolation money only for 7 of the 14 plaintiffs who were the parties themselves, and dismissed the consolation money claims of the families who suffered indirect damages.
The plaintiffs include 7 parties themselves such as Kim Sang-yoon, the former owner of Nokdu Bookstore and advisor to the Yun Sang-won Memorial Association, his wife Jung Hyun-ae, former director of the May Mother’s House, and his younger brother Kim Sang-jip, former head of the Gwangju branch of the May 18 Detained and Injured Association, as well as their parents, children, and other family members.
The court ruled, "When compensation was paid under the 1990 Gwangju Democratic Movement Compensation Act, the bereaved families were aware of the state's illegal acts but did not file a lawsuit within three years, so the statute of limitations was completed." While the first trial ordered consolation money to be paid to both the parties and the bereaved families, the appeal court rejected the consolation money claims of the families due to the statute of limitations.
The 7 party plaintiffs were arrested during the May 18, 1980 incident and sentenced to imprisonment for violating martial law, or were illegally detained and beaten. They had previously received compensation related to the democratization movement, but recently filed related lawsuits with their families following the Constitutional Court’s decision recognizing mental damages, winning partially in the first trial.
The first trial court recognized consolation money ranging from about 40 million to 240 million KRW per person by adding the amount recognized for the families to the mental damages consolation money for the parties, and also ruled for consolation money payment to the families.
However, the state appealed, arguing that "the statute of limitations has already been completed" regarding the bereaved families’ mental damages claims, and the second trial court accepted this argument, unlike the first trial. If the second trial ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, only the parties themselves will receive consolation money, and the families’ claims will be denied.
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