The Supreme Court ruled that the 'Emergency Measure No. 9' issued by former President Park Chung-hee in 1975 was not only unconstitutional but also a civil illegal act, so the state was responsible for compensation for the victims who were arrested, punished, and detained at the time.



Today (30th), the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Kim Jae-hyeong) overturned the lower court ruling that the plaintiff lost in the appeals trial of 71 people including Mr. A against the Republic of Korea and returned the case to the Seoul High Court.



As a result, in March 2015, when Yang Seung-tae was former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, "the president's exercise of the right to take emergency measures based on the Yushin Constitution is a highly politicized state act. I can't see it," the previous Supreme Court precedent was changed for the first time in 7 years.



On the same day, the Supreme Court said, "Emergency Measure No. 9 is clearly unconstitutional and invalid, and the violation of fundamental rights of the people due to the issuance of Emergency Measure No. 9 has become a reality through forced investigation, indictment (indictment), and judgment of conviction." .



"In this case, a series of state actions from the issuance of emergency measure 9 to application and execution are considered 'as a whole', and it is illegal as a public official neglects his duty of objective care while performing his/her duties, and the act of duty has lost its objective legitimacy." “The national liability for compensation may be recognized for damages suffered by individual citizens by undergoing a compulsory investigation or serving a sentence of conviction due to the application and execution of Emergency Measure No. 9,” the court ruled.



The plaintiffs in this case are victims of the 'Presidential Emergency Measure No. 9 for the Protection of National Security and Public Order', or the so-called "Emergency Measure No. 9" for short.



Emergency Measure No. 9, enacted in May 1975, denies, opposes, distorts, or slanders the Yushin Constitution, or asserts, petitions, incites, or propagates the amendment or repeal of the Yushin Constitution to imprisonment for at least one year.



The plaintiff filed a national compensation lawsuit in 2013, and after more than a year of hearing in the first instance, the plaintiff lost the judgment in May 2015.



The Supreme Court has referred the case to a panel of all judges for a hearing to discuss whether to change the case law in 2015.



(Photo = Yonhap News)