The state must compensate a victim of the Samcheong Re-education Camp for damages covering the entire period of detention, including the time he spent on the run and serving a subsequent prison sentence, a South Korean court has ruled. The court determined that those periods also stemmed from the state's unlawful confinement.
According to legal sources Monday, the 33rd Civil Division of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Chang-hyung, ordered the state to pay approximately 220 million won to a Samcheong Re-education Camp victim identified as A in his damages lawsuit against the government. The ruling became final last month after neither the state nor the plaintiff filed an appeal.
A was placed in the Samcheong Re-education Camp in August 1980, during the Chun Doo-hwan administration, under Martial Law Decree No. 13 and subjected to so-called "purification training." He was later classified as "unpurified" and forced into hard labor at a military unit. In January 1981, he was placed under protective custody for two years and remained in confinement.
A escaped from the protective custody facility in March of the same year but was recaptured and prosecuted for violating the Social Protection Act. He was sentenced to four months in prison and was finally released in May 1983 after completing his protective custody term.
The court recognized the state's liability for damages, ruling that it must compensate A for the mental and economic harm he suffered.
In calculating the damages, the court recognized the entire 33-month period from A's initial confinement in August 1980 to his final release in May 1983 as the period of harm. This included the time he spent after escaping the protective custody facility and during his subsequent imprisonment after being recaptured.
"The plaintiff suffered serious infringements of his constitutional fundamental rights, including human dignity, physical liberty, and freedom of residence and movement, due to arrest and detention conducted without legal basis or due process," the court said, affirming the state's liability for compensation.
"Although the period of escape is not clearly documented in the records, it can also be assessed as having occurred while he was unjustly detained as a result of the state's unlawful actions," the court added, ruling that this period also falls within the scope of state compensation.
The court calculated the total damages at approximately 220 million won, combining lost income that A was unable to earn during his confinement with consolation money for mental suffering.
