Victims of Samcheong Education Center Protective Custody Win Partial Compensation Lawsuit Against the State

Victims and their families who were forcibly detained at Samcheong Education Center in the early 1980s won partial compensation in a lawsuit against the state.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 31 (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-woo) ruled on the 10th in favor of 14 victims of protective custody at Samcheong Education Center, including Kim, and 27 other victims in separate lawsuits filed against the state for damages.

The court did not explain the reasons for the ruling in court that day. The compensation amounts notified to the victims who appeared in court ranged from 10 million to 240 million KRW each.

The Samcheong Education Center incident involved the Chun Doo-hwan regime establishing the center under Martial Law Proclamation No. 13 in 1980, detaining about 40,000 people in military facilities, and committing large-scale human rights violations through re-education and labor service.

Among those detained, approximately 7,500 individuals classified as having a risk of reoffending were subjected to protective custody for up to 40 months under Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Social Protection Act's supplementary provisions. They remained confined in military facilities, isolated from society, and suffered human rights violations while performing forced labor under the pretext of labor service and re-education.

Cho Young-sun, a lawyer from Donghwa Law Firm representing the victims, said to reporters immediately after the verdict, “The low amount of consolation money compared to the damage can be seen as secondary harm to these individuals,” and added, “I question whether the state’s appeal is truly a measure that aligns with minimal restoration of honor, apology, reflection, and recovery of damages.”