Families of Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Victims Partially Win Damages Lawsuit Against the State

Court Recognizes State Liability for Unlawful Official Acts
Statute of Limitations Defense Rejected... Compensation Awarded to Victims' Families

The families of victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident have received a partial victory in a lawsuit for damages filed against the government. The court ruled that "there is liability for damages due to unlawful state violence" and did not accept the statute of limitations defense.

The Gwangju District Court Civil Division 11 (Presiding Judge Hong Kichan) announced on the 8th that it had partially ruled in favor of 43 family members of victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon 10.19 Incident (Yeosu-Suncheon Incident) in their claim for damages against the Republic of Korea, ordering the defendant to pay compensation according to inheritance shares.

The court set compensation amounts at 100 million KRW for the victim, 50 million KRW for the spouse, 10 million KRW for parents and children, and 5 million KRW for siblings. The plaintiffs are family members of 10 officially recognized victims who had filed first-round claims with the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Fact-Finding and Victims' Honor Restoration Committee.

In this ruling, the government argued that "the right to claim damages had expired by the time the lawsuit was filed," but the court did not accept this. The court stated, "As this is an unlawful mass civilian killing incident that occurred around the Korean War, the statute of limitations cannot be applied," and added, "The state is liable to compensate for damages caused by illegal acts of public officials."

This victory is one of the rare cases in which the families of Yeosu-Suncheon Incident victims have received legal compensation. The Yeosu-Suncheon Incident occurred in October 1948 when some members of the national army refused orders to suppress the Jeju 4.3 Uprising, resulting in thousands of civilians being executed or going missing at the hands of the military and police.

With the revision of the Special Act on Fact-Finding and Restoration of Honor for Victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon 10.19 Incident, the third round of victim claims is currently underway and will be accepted until the end of August.