Family of May 18 Missing Person Awarded 200 Million Won in Damages on Appeal

Gwangju High Court Increases Compensation by 80 Million Won Compared to First Trial
"Damages Raised in Consideration of Honor Restoration"
Disappearance After Participating in May 1980 Geumnam-ro Protest
Series of Increased Compensation Rulings After National Assembly Audit Criticism

The Gwangju High Court has ordered the state to pay 200 million won in compensation to the family of a man in his 20s who went missing during the May 18 Democratic Uprising, increasing the amount awarded in the first trial.

Gwangju District Court. Photo by Song Bohyun

According to the legal community on July 8, the Civil Division 2 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Park Junghoon) ruled in the appeals case filed by the family of Mr. A against the Republic of Korea, stating, "It is appropriate to set the compensation at 200 million won," and delivered its verdict on July 5, increasing the amount by 80 million won compared to the first trial's award of 120 million won.

In its written decision, the court stated, "Mr. A went missing at the young age of 25, and the May 18 Compensation Act aims, among other objectives, to restore the honor of those involved through the payment of compensation. These factors were taken into account in the ruling."

Mr. A participated in a pro-democracy protest near Geumnam-ro in Dong-gu, Gwangju, on May 21, 1980, when the martial law troops opened fire on the crowd. He subsequently went missing and was officially recognized as a missing person related to May 18 on July 29, 1998.

Recently, the Gwangju High Court has been issuing a series of rulings that increase compensation amounts in May 18-related damage lawsuits. This trend has continued since last year, following criticism during the National Assembly audit that the compensation amounts recognized by courts in the Gwangju area were lower than those in other regions.