State confirms compensation for family of prosecutor killed during Yeosu-Suncheon Uprising

The state's liability to compensate the family of the late prosecutor Park Chan-gil, a victim of the Oct. 19 Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, has been confirmed. Park stood up against injustice, including seeking a prison sentence against a police officer who massacred innocent civilians.

The Ministry of Justice announced Tuesday that it had decided to drop its appeal of a first-instance ruling by the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Court, which recognized the state's liability to pay damages to Park's surviving family. The ministry made the decision Thursday.

Park was appointed second-in-command prosecutor at the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office in November 1947, at the age of 37. He handled cases of police misconduct directly, including seeking a 10-year prison sentence against an officer who had shot and killed innocent civilians.

Suncheon police shot Park dead without trial on Oct. 23 of the following year, shortly after the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident broke out, on charges that he had served as a presiding judge at a people's tribunal. His father, Park In-seo, was also taken into custody by police and died after being tortured.

In a lawsuit filed by Park's son, Pastor Park Gyeong-jin, on July 6 this year, the court of first instance recognized the police's unlawful conduct and ordered the state to pay a total of 690 million won ($515,000) in damages.

The court took into account that state investigations had found no basis for the allegation that Park had presided over a people's tribunal, and that the National Assembly had officially confirmed this finding — yet the state had failed to offer a proper apology or compensation, leaving the bereaved family to suffer for decades.

The case was brought back into the spotlight when Park's life story was featured at the 78th joint memorial ceremony for the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, held at Ocheon Green Plaza in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, on Oct. 19 this year.

Acting Minister of Justice Lee Jin-su, who also serves as vice minister, said the decision to drop the appeal was made "on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, to restore the honor of the deceased, who was unjustly killed while upholding the rule of law and protecting innocent lives, and to swiftly heal the pain of the bereaved family, who have suffered for so long."