Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Proclamation Conviction Overturned After 70 Years

All 24 Deceased Defendants Acquitted in Retrial
Violation of the Principle of Legality Recognized
Gwangju District Court: "Application of Abolished Proclamation Unconstitutional"

Individuals who were convicted and died for violating a proclamation issued by the U.S. military government during the Yeosu-Suncheon 10.19 Incident (Yeosun Incident) have been acquitted 76 years after the event.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Yongkyu) delivered a retrial verdict on the 27th, acquitting all 24 deceased defendants. These individuals had been indicted for violating Proclamation No. 2 during the 1948 Yeosun Incident and were found guilty by a military tribunal, but have now had their legal honor restored through this retrial.

The court stated, "Proclamation No. 2, which was applied in this case, was issued in the name of General MacArthur during the U.S. military government in 1945. By 1948, the military government had already ended, so the legal basis for its application no longer existed." The court further explained, "The military tribunal's reliance on this proclamation lacked legal legitimacy." The court also noted, "The proclamation was excessively vague and broad, making it difficult for citizens to predict whether they were in violation, and the penalties lacked specificity, thus violating the principle of legality in criminal law."

The individuals acquitted had been arrested in October 1948 on charges of cooperating with or supporting the rebellion of the 14th Regiment soldiers. Many of them died while imprisoned or under unknown circumstances.

The Yeosun Incident is a symbolic case of state violence before and after the Korean War. Since the Supreme Court's Grand Bench decided to allow retrials in 2019, acquittals for related victims have continued at the Suncheon Branch Court.