Court: "Falsified Statements and Forced Confessions... Prosecution's Investigation Was Unlawful"
Exculpatory Evidence Withheld, but Investigators Cannot Be Punished
The mother and daughter who spent 15 years in prison for the "cyanide Makgeolli murder" case have been acquitted after being falsely accused due to coercive investigations and fabricated evidence. However, the prosecutors and police who brought them to trial will not be held accountable, as the statute of limitations has expired.
On the afternoon of the 28th, in front of the Gwangju High Court in Dong-gu, Gwangju, the defendant mother and daughter in the cyanide Makgeolli case held a press conference after being acquitted in a retrial 16 years after the incident occurred. Photo by Yonhap News
The Criminal Division 2 of the Gwangju High Court (Chief Judge Lee Euyeong) acquitted A (age 75) and her daughter (age 41), who were indicted on charges of murder and parricide, in their appellate retrial on the 28th. The court based its acquittal on the illegality of the prosecution's investigation.
The court pointed out that "there was falsification of statements and forced confessions" during the interrogation process, and that "the prosecution's investigation was not lawful." It was noted as problematic that A, who dropped out of school in the second grade and has difficulty reading Korean, and her daughter, who has borderline intellectual functioning and cannot live independently, were interrogated for long hours and then given only a few minutes to review their statements.
They were not informed of their right to remain silent or their right to have counsel present. A's handwritten statement showed signs of intervention by prosecutors and investigators, and the video of her statement was not even reviewed during the second trial, which resulted in a guilty verdict.
Additionally, evidence favorable to the defendants was not submitted, such as CCTV footage contradicting the mother and daughter's movements and the route by which the Makgeolli was purchased, as well as a National Forensic Service report indicating that no cyanide was detected on the alleged murder weapon.
The court determined that such investigative actions constituted abuse of authority and falsification of official documents, but stated that it was impossible to punish those involved in the investigation because the seven-year statute of limitations had passed. This is similar to other retrial cases such as the "Samrye Nara Supermarket Robbery and Murder" and the "Yakchon Five-way Intersection Murder" cases.
The mother and daughter were arrested and detained immediately, and each served 15 years in prison before being released last year when the retrial was granted. The prosecution stated, "We will closely review the content of the retrial ruling and decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court."
Meanwhile, the prosecutor responsible for extracting the confession and bringing the case to trial was dismissed in 2013 for accepting improper benefits, later became a lawyer, but had his license revoked after being sentenced to prison for pocketing an additional 100 million won in legal fees.
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