All 52 State Compensation Cases Withdrawn
Appeals Abandoned in 19 Cases Ruled in First and Second Instance
The Ministry of Justice announced on September 14 that it has completed the collective withdrawal and abandonment of appeals in lawsuits filed by victims who were forcibly detained at the Brothers Home and Seongam Academy against the government for state compensation.
The Ministry of Justice stated that, as of September 12, it had withdrawn all appeals in 52 cases involving 512 victims whose cases were in the appellate or Supreme Court stages, and collectively abandoned appeals in 19 cases involving 135 victims whose cases had been decided in the first or second instance.
Of these, the Brothers Home cases account for a total of 49 cases (417 victims), while the Seongam Academy cases account for 22 cases (230 victims).
Justice Minister Jeong Seongho said, "This withdrawal and abandonment of appeals is the government's way of acknowledging the human rights violations suffered by the victims of the Brothers Home and Seongam Academy during the era of authoritarian rule, and is a step toward genuine recovery and integration."
To provide prompt relief for the victims' rights, the government will pay the full amount of compensation first and later discuss the sharing of compensation costs with Busan Metropolitan City and Gyeonggi Province. The Ministry of Justice also announced that it will refrain from filing routine appeals in future state compensation lawsuits brought by victims of illegal acts committed by the government.
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