[Sell to the end] I've been looking for my daughter for 30 years... Absurd answer that crushes 'concealment'

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After Lee Chun-jae, who committed serial murder in the 1980s and 90s, confessed to the crime in 2019, a damages lawsuit filed against the state by the bereaved family of Kim Hyun-jung, an 8-year-old elementary school student among the victims, continues.

Last year, SBS 'Panda to the End' team reported that the police, who had been reported missing at the time, systematically covered up Miss Kim's body and belongings even after finding her. Far from acknowledging it, they are making claims that are difficult to understand. 

Reporter Kwon Ji-yoon reports exclusively.

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According to the investigation records of Lee Chun-jae obtained by the Panda team to the end, part of the body and clothes and other items were found in a nearby hill five months after Miss Hyun-jeong disappeared 33 years ago.

A resident who participated in the search testified that "the bones of both hands were found tied to a skipping rope," and statements that more than 10 police officers were aware of the discovery of the body at the time were also secured.

[Investigation team official at the time (SBS8 News, May 3, 2021): The body was just buried and the investigation was carried out as a missing person case in that state.]

Until Lee Chun-jae confessed three years ago, the police Because of the cover-up, the bereaved family searched for their daughter for 30 years.

In announcing the results of the investigation, the police charged two people, including the chief of the detective at the time, saying, "The suspicion of concealing some of the remains of the victim is substantial."

However, the prosecution closed the case saying that the statute of limitations had passed, and only a lawsuit against the state was left for the bereaved family who had no way to resolve their grievance.

However, the government's opinion last month is full of absurd content.

"It was a time when scientific investigation techniques were not properly developed" and "It has not been confirmed whether the police officers at the time buried some of the bodies found back in the ground," he said, arguing a logic that was far from the core issue of the case.

Despite the investigation record that more than 10 people were aware of the discovery of the body, they said, "It cannot be seen as a systematic violation of human rights by the state because it has not been objectively confirmed."

And a weapon used as a report of imputation to national crimes, insisted on 'extinction of statute of limitations'.

[Attorney Lee Jeong-do (survivor's lawyer): Making absurd excuses to alleviate the state's responsibility when prompt relief is not enough, as it constitutes secondary harm to victims or bereaved families (should be avoided.)

] The adoptive mother died two years ago, and while the judgment in the first trial of the damages lawsuit was delayed for nearly three years, the father also recently passed away.

[The late Mr. Kim Yong-bok (Hyun-jeong's father) / May 2021: I want to meet those who are not responsible.

If I had seen it with my own eyes (even my daughter's corpse), I would have buried it in my heart and said my child had gone to heaven...

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The first trial judgment in the lawsuit against the government is scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

(Video coverage: Ha Ryung, video editing:

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[Reporter Kwon Ji-yoon: Hyeonjeong's bereaved family filed a lawsuit against the government in March 2020.

In addition to this, the government took time while evading responsibility by driving the police officer's individual deviation.

Even if Article 199 of the Civil Procedure Act, which states that the first trial sentence must be made within 5 months, is a sentenceless reality, it seems too harsh that only the first trial lasted for nearly two years and eight months.

While the lawsuit was delayed, Hyeon-jeong's mother and father died one after another, making it impossible to see the government's acknowledgment of responsibility.]

[Reporter Kwon Ji-yoon: It seems that the government intends to reduce the amount of compensation by reducing their responsibility even a little.

There is no consideration for the victim at all.

The bereaved families of Hyunjeong and Yang are also victims of state violence following the police's cover-up, as well as Lee Chun-jae's murder.

Last July, the Ministry of Justice published a document titled “A warm legal administration that protects human rights,” saying that it would expand protection for victims of crime, but this data seems colorless.

Even if the first trial is over, you can appeal, so I can't guarantee when the trial will end, but the Panda team will keep watching until the end.]