A South Korean court recently overturned a 1987 ruling, saying the defendant at the time was wrongly convicted of trying to defect to North Korea.
The Seoul High Court last month cleared the defendant of all charges in the retrial, conducted nearly 40 years after the initial ruling. The defendant was a conscripted soldier, accused of attempting to flee to the North in June 1987 while repairing the fences.
The prosecutors had said that the man, who was often hungry because his tonsillitis hindered his eating, had heard North Korea's loudspeakers boasting of the financial prosperity of the communist state.
They claimed that the defendant had fled to the North in hope of a better life and accused him of violating the National Security Act and Article 33 of the Military Criminal Act, fleeing to the enemy's camp. The defendant claimed that he had just wanted to listen to the songs he heard on the loudspeakers.
He was promptly handed a lifetime sentence in July 1987, which was reduced to 15 years three months later at the appellate court of the military. He did not appeal, and the sentence was confirmed.
In the recent ruling, the Seoul High Court said the man's testimonies had been forced by military investigators, who had illegally detained him and tortured him during the investigation. Key evidence was determined to have been collected by illegal means and dismissed.
The court also noted a lack of specific statements by the defendant regarding how he jumped over the fence, as the prosecution claimed, and said he had appeared to be in a fragile emotional state when he gave the statements.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
