hankyoreh

president of the truth and reconciliation commission.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Jinsil Hwahae Wi) announced on March 17 its findings in the “Kim U-cheol Brothers Spy Case” and the “Kim Sang-sun Spy Case,” both from the 1970s and 1980s, and that it is formally recommending an apology by the state.

What is known today as the Kim U-cheol Spy Case was an episode in which a man by the name of Kim U-cheol, who was 58 at the time, went to Japan in 1947 and made his fortune there. In February 1975 he was arrested in Korea with his brother, Lee Cheol, 51. Both were accused of spying for North Korea and put in prison for 10 years and three years six months, respectively. According to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the police took the brothers to a nearby hotel where they held them against their will while torturing and threatening them until getting both to issue false confessions to being North Korean operatives. Both men served their full sentences but lived the rest of their days in and out of hospitals because of the aftereffects of the torture they endured.

The Kim Sang-sun Case refers to the arrest of a 27-year-old man in 1983 in Daegu. Kim was detained by military security officials and eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison and 12 years of “suspension of rights.” The commission found that the officials who arrested him did not have the authority to investigate civilians and that he was forced to issue a false confession after threats and water torture during a 38-day period.

“The commission formally recommends that the state apologize to the victims, their families, and other related individuals in these two cases. We also recommend the state take appropriate action, such as providing re-trials, so as to restore their honor,” said the commission in a statement.

The commission also said it is investigating close to 30 cases involving Koreans from Japan who were accused of spying for North Korea.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]