Government Finalizes State Liability for Late Prosecutor Park Changil, Victim of the 'Yeosu-Suncheon Incident'

Ministry of Justice to Accept Ruling Ordering KRW 690 Million in Compensation
Taking into Account the Lack of Follow-Up Measures, Including an Apology and Compensation

The government has finalized its liability for damages after deciding not to appeal a court ruling that the state must pay compensation to the family of the late Prosecutor Park Changil, who was killed during the Yeosu-Suncheon 10·19 Incident.

The Ministry of Justice said on November 3 that it had decided not to appeal the first-instance ruling by the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Court, which recognized the state’s liability to compensate Prosecutor Park’s family. The decision was made on October 29.

At the age of 37, Prosecutor Park was appointed in November 1947 as the second-ranking prosecutor at the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office. He handled cases against police misconduct, including seeking a severe 10-year prison sentence for a police officer who had confirmed the deaths of innocent civilians by shooting them.

However, on October 23 of the following year, shortly after the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident broke out, Suncheon police summarily shot Prosecutor Park without trial on suspicion of serving as the presiding officer of a people’s tribunal. Prosecutor Park’s father, Park Inseo, was also taken into police custody, tortured and died.

Attendees, including Lee Ja-hun, head of the Seoul Bereaved Families Association for the Yeosu-Suncheon Rebellion, pay their respects at a ceremony in Seoul marking the 78th anniversary of the uprising, held near Open Songhyeon Green in Jongno-gu on October 19 this year. Yonhap News.

In a lawsuit filed on July 6 this year by Park Gyeongjin, Prosecutor Park’s son and a pastor, the first-instance court found that the police had acted unlawfully and ordered the state to pay the family a total of KRW 690 million in damages.

The court took into account that the family had suffered for a long time because the state had failed to take proper follow-up measures, including an apology and compensation, despite the findings of a government investigation that the allegation of serving as the presiding officer of a people’s tribunal was unfounded and official confirmation of those findings by the National Assembly.

The case drew renewed attention on October 19, when Prosecutor Park’s life story was presented at the 78th joint memorial ceremony for the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, held at Ocheon Green Square in Suncheon, Jeonnam-Gwangju.

Acting Justice Minister Lee Jinsu, who is also vice minister of justice, said, “On the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, we decided not to appeal so that we can restore the honor of the deceased, who was unjustly killed while defending the rule of law and protecting innocent lives, and swiftly heal the suffering of the family, who have endured pain for a long time.”

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