Prosecutors appeal acquittal of late poet Kim Nam-ju in Namminjeon case retrial

Prosecutors have appealed a retrial ruling that acquitted the late poet Kim Nam-ju, who was imprisoned for joining the preparatory committee of Namminjeon, or the National Liberation Front of South Korea.

According to Yonhap on Wednesday, prosecutors filed the appeal Tuesday with the 28th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, led by Presiding Judge Han Dae-gyun.

In the retrial, prosecutors had sought acquittal on the charge of violating the National Security Act but contested some other charges, including robbery and preparation for robbery, arguing that Kim was guilty of those.

On Sept. 2, the court found that Kim had been subjected to unlawful detention as well as assault, threats and other forms of abuse, and acquitted him of all charges, including the National Security Act violation.

Namminjeon was an underground organization formed in 1976 by Lee Jae-mun, a former reporter for the Minjok Ilbo newspaper, and others with the goal of opposing the Yushin dictatorship and advancing the democratization movement.

About 80 people were arrested on charges including violating the National Security Act after the group distributed leaflets criticizing the Yushin system across Seoul. The case became known as the largest public security case of the late Yushin era.

Kim was detained in 1979 on charges of spearheading the anti-Yushin movement, including by joining the Namminjeon preparatory committee in 1978. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison the following year.

He was released on parole through a suspension of sentence execution in 1988, about nine years and two months after his imprisonment, but died of pancreatic cancer in 1994, roughly five years later.

Even in prison, Kim continued to write poetry, sharpening a toothbrush to press verses into milk cartons and foil.

The roughly 250 poems he wrote behind bars were later published, beginning with his first collection, "Requiem," in 1984, followed by "My Sword, My Blood" and "The Fatherland Is One."