Jeon Tae-sam Also Acquitted of Martial Law Act Violation
"Martial Law Proclamation Was Unconstitutional and Invalid from the Start"
The late Mrs. Lee So-sun, mother of the labor activist Jeon Tae-il, and his younger brother Jeon Tae-sam, who were sentenced to prison for violating the Martial Law Act by the Chun Doo-hwan military regime, were acquitted after 44 years.
On the 26th, the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Chief Judge Kang Min-ho) announced that it had acquitted Mrs. Lee in a retrial on charges of violating the Martial Law Act on the 6th. This comes 44 years after Mrs. Lee was sentenced to 10 months in prison on July 13, 1981.
Jeon Tae-il’s younger brother Jeon and two others, who were indicted on charges including violation of the Martial Law Act and the Assembly and Demonstration Act, were acquitted of the Martial Law Act charges and received a dismissal of prosecution (myeonso) for the Assembly and Demonstration Act charges. The court ruled dismissal without direct judgment because the relevant provisions of the Assembly and Demonstration Act applied to them at the time were later repealed, making punishment impossible.
In particular, the court ruled “no sentence shall be imposed” regarding the charges of special confinement and obstruction of official duties applied to Jeon and others. They had previously been granted a special pardon. The court viewed the effect of that pardon as lost and thus made this ruling.
Regarding the charges of violating the Martial Law Act, the court stated, “The martial law proclamation was issued without meeting the requirements set forth in the Constitution and laws, and its content violates the principles of warrant requirement and legality of crimes and punishments. It infringes on constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and academic freedom, so the martial law proclamation was unconstitutional, illegal, and invalid from before its repeal or expiration, violating the Yushin Constitution and the former Martial Law Act.” The court further ruled, “Since the martial law proclamation was unconstitutional and invalid from the outset, the indictment against the defendants based on violating Article 2, Clause Ga of the martial law proclamation does not constitute a crime under Article 325, first part, of the Criminal Procedure Act.”
According to Article 2, Clause Ga of Emergency Martial Law Proclamation No. 10, announced nationwide on May 17, 1980, by the Chun Doo-hwan military regime, all political activities were suspended to maintain national security and public order, and all indoor and outdoor assemblies and demonstrations for political purposes were completely banned. Assemblies not for political purposes had to be reported.
Mrs. Lee, Jeon, and three others were active in the Cheonggye Clothing Branch of the National Federation of Labor Unions (Cheonggye Clothing Union) and were accused of not immediately disbanding the union upon the Seoul mayor’s dissolution order on January 6, 1981, and discussing countermeasures around January 18 at the union office. The Cheonggye Clothing Union was formed on November 13, 1970, by female sewing workers in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, who witnessed Jeon Tae-il’s death, along with Mrs. Lee.
Additionally, three people including Jeon were accused of dragging an American named Mr. A, the Korean office manager, into the manager’s office at an office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 4:30 p.m. on January 30, 1981, and blocking the office entrance and the manager’s office door. They were also charged with threatening by pouring oil on the floor when the police entered. They demanded a meeting with Mr. A and intended to stage a sit-in to restore the union’s status, but when he refused and left the office, they confined him until about 5 a.m. the next day.
At the time, the prosecution considered that under Emergency Martial Law Proclamation No. 10, all political assemblies and demonstrations were banned during the martial law situation, and non-political assemblies had to be reported to the martial law command. They believed the defendants conspired despite knowing this.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Lee was acquitted on December 21, 2021, 41 years after being convicted and sentenced to one year in prison for violating the Martial Law Act by a military court in 1980. At that time, she was arrested and tried for giving speeches at Korea University and other places about the miserable lives of workers and advocating for labor rights protection.
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