A ruling was issued to compensate the state of 1.3 billion won for Choi Mo, who had been imprisoned for 10 years after being convicted of the'Yakchon 5-geori murder case' in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do.
The 45th Division of the Civil Agreement of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in a lawsuit filed by Mr. Choi against the country and the police and prosecutors who investigated the case at the time, saying, "The defendant Republic of Korea should compensate the plaintiff Choi Yong-min with about 1.39 billion won."
In addition, the government ruled to pay 300 million won to Choi's two family members.
In particular, the court ruled that Mo Lee, a police officer who investigated Choi at the time, and Mo Mo Kim, the prosecutor who led the investigation, asked Choi and his family to pay an amount equivalent to 20% of the damages compensation expenses.
In August 2000, when he was 16, Choi was charged with stabbing a taxi driver near Yakchon 5-geori in Yeongdeung-dong, Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In 2003, when Choi was serving in prison, the police captured 40-year-old Kim Mo after acquiring information that there was another real criminal, but closed the case because there was no physical evidence.
Choi filed for a retrial in 2013 after being released from the expiry, claiming that he confessed falsely because he was unable to overcome the coercion of the police.
Along with the acquittal of Mr. Choi, the investigative authorities arrested and prosecuted Mr. Kim, Jin beom, and Mr. Kim was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018.
(Photo = Yonhap News)