Yoon Seong-yeo – now in his sixties – went on trial in the northwestern city of Suwon on Thursday in connection with a 1-year-old rape and murder case in his bedroom in Hawanaseng, then near Seoul, the capital of a rural, underdeveloped country.
In a ruling issued Thursday, Judge Park Zheng-Jie found that police used torture, including a period of sleep deprivation, and unlawful detention to obtain Yun’s confession to the 1988 murder.
He said, “As a member of the judiciary, I apologize to the accused who suffered tremendous physical and mental anguish for failing to perform the function of the court properly as a last resort of human rights.” We hope that the re-trial of this case will give some reassurance and contribute to the restoration of the accused’s honor. “
The result means that Yun’s name has finally been cleared – more than 30 years after the assassination. It is also a rare result in South Korea, where, according to experts, only a small fraction of applications for retrials are accepted.
“I am relieved that I have been acquitted of the final verdict,” Yoon said following the verdict. “I’ve been carrying this heavy load for years and I can rest a little.”
Yoon has been claiming his innocence for years, but he was charged only after police made a breakthrough in the case last year.
In September, police announced that new DNA evidence at least linked the murder of Hwaseng to Lee Chun-ja, who has been in prison since 1994 in connection with the rape and murder of his sister-in-law. The following month, Lee confessed to all 10 murders and four others that police did not give his details.
Forced confession
In a months-long lawsuit, Yun’s lawyers argued that his client – who was arrested when he was a 22-year-old, uneducated repairman crippled by childhood polio – was forced by police to confess.
U.N. CNN. Told that he had been handcuffed in the room for three days, was not allowed to sleep, and barely ate during the interrogation.
“We apologize to all the victims of the Lee Chun Jana crime, the families of the victims and the victims of the police investigation, including Eun,” Bae said, adding that others were “police malpractice” during the initial Hwaseng investigation.
According to Professor Lee Soo-jung, a forensic psychology professor at Kyunggi University, it was common in the 1980s in South Korea to stay awake for a long time to get confessions from suspected criminals. Deprivation is considered a form of harassment.
In an interview with CNN in November, Kim Chang-yong, commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency, said last year that the police had used illegal detention and false investigative techniques. He said the decision to expose past wrongdoings shows the police’s commitment not to make the same mistakes.
“It was a shameful, illegal investigation,” he said. “I believe it will never happen again and that is why we need investigation and balance. The police are working hard not to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Cold case solved
For decades, the Huaseng murders – repeated in “Memories of Murder”, a 2003 film by “parasitic” director Bong Jun Ho – remained unsolved. Lena’s confession could help bring some relief to the victims’ families.
Kim said police profiles interviewed Lee in about seven months, before he confessed to all the crimes he had committed. “He didn’t confess easily,” Kim said.
“I don’t think crimes will be buried forever,” Lee said. “I came and testified and described the crimes in the hope of getting some relief when the truth is revealed (victims and their families). I will live my life in repentance.”
What happens next
Yoon can now seek compensation for the 20 years he wrongly imprisoned. Park Jun-Young, one of Yun’s lawyers, told CNN earlier this year that Yun could expect more than $ 1 million in compensation.
You previously visited CNN. Told him that no amount could compensate him for the years he spent in prison and the effects it had on his reputation and family.
Police are planning to issue a white paper on the Hwaseng case and police failures during the preliminary investigation. Kim said it was “impossible” to imagine such failures now.
The families of the Hwaseng victims are unlikely to receive justice.
Although Lee has confessed to the murders, he cannot be prosecuted for the Hwaseng cases, as the law on limitations on those murders has expired.
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