May Organizations Urge Passage of Bill to Extend Statute of Limitations for 5·18 Victims' State Compensation Claims

They urged the passage of a bill extending the statute of limitations for the 'state compensation claim rights' of 5·18 merit recipients by up to 40 years.

On the 25th, the 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association, Meritorious Persons Association, and Bereaved Families Association held a press conference at the May Memory Archive of the 5·18 Foundation in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, urging the passage of a bill to extend the statute of limitations for national compensation claims to 40 years.
[Photo by Min Hyun-gi]

On the 25th, the public law organizations 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association, Meritorious Persons Association, and Bereaved Families Association held a press conference at the May Memory Archive of the 5·18 Foundation in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, stating that the partial amendment bill of the 'Act on Compensation for Persons Related to the 5·18 Democratic Movement,' proposed by independent lawmaker Yang Jeong-suk, must be passed by the National Assembly plenary session as soon as possible.

If this bill passes, the statute of limitations for claims for damages, which under the Civil Act is limited to '3 years' from the date the victim or their legal representative becomes aware of the damage or the perpetrator, and '10 years' from the date the unlawful act was committed, can be extended up to 40 years for 5·18 merit recipients regarding state compensation claims.

The organizations explained that the Civil Act has been applied so far, resulting in insufficient investigation into the illegal exercise of state authority and damages during the 5·18 incident.

Accordingly, the organizations emphasized, "Recently, the Gwangju District Court accepted the state's claim that the statute of limitations had expired in a state compensation lawsuit filed by the bereaved families of the 5·18 Democratic Movement, based on the Civil Act which states that 'claims for damages due to unlawful acts must be exercised within 3 years from the date the damage or perpetrator is known.' According to Articles 6 and 7 of the 'Principles of Victim Rights' adopted by the UN, in cases of collective victimization, the principle is to exclude the statute of limitations for prosecution as well as the statute of limitations for claims."

Hwang Il-bong, president of the 5·18 Democratic Movement Injured Persons Association, said, "Regarding the 5·18 Democratic Movement, where many innocent citizens were sacrificed due to the state's illegal exercise of authority, the statute of limitations should be significantly extended so that victims, their bereaved families, or legal representatives can exercise their rights within '40 years' from the date they become aware of the damage and the party responsible for compensation, otherwise the statute of limitations will be completed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.