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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Collaboration with the enemy |
Sentence: |
Death |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
1948 |
Year Convicted: |
1948 |
Year Cleared: |
2020 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Republic of Korea (South Korea) |
County or Region of Crime: |
South Jeolla |
City of Crime: |
Suncheon |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Posthumously |
Summary of Case: |
"Chang Hwan-bong aka Jang was wrongly convicted in 1948 of collaborating with the enemy and sentenced to death in South Korea. The 28-year-old Hwan-bong was executed immediately -- and only 22 days after his arrest. Hwan-bong's conviction was based on allegations he helped left-leaning soldiers in an armed uprising against the South Korean government in the southwestern cities of Yeosu and Suncheon in 1948. In 2009 a South Korean truth panel found that at least 438 civilians -- including Hwan-bong had been unjustly convicted of assisting the rebel forces in North Korea. In 2013 his daughter, Chang Kyung-ja, filed an appeal for a retrial. In March 2018 South Korea's Apex Court granted a retrial for Hwan-bong and two other men. On March 21, 2019 South Korea's Supreme Court affirmed the grant of a retrial to the three men. Hwan-bong was the first of the three retried. He was posthumously acquitted on January 20, 2020 in the Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Court. Judge Kim Jung-ah ruled after Hwan-bong's retrial that his guilt was not proven by the prosecution's evidence. Judge Jung-ah stated: "“As a member of the judiciary, I want to make it clear that the execution of the ruling was by illegal power of the government and I make a deep apology." Hwan-bong's acquittal was the first for any of the 438 civilians identified in the 2009 report as being wrongly accused of collaborating with the enemy. After acquittal his daughter Kyung-ja told reporters: "“I am happy that my father’s undeserved death has been proven.” The Committee for the Retrial of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident is an activist group campaigning for the people convicted of collarboration and other charges. They were pleased with the “historic ruling“ of Chang Hwan-bong's acquittal and said it was “only the beginning,” since a total of 5,000 civilians may have been wrongly convicted." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Hwan-bong was posthumously acquitted on January 20, 2020 after a retrial in the Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Court. Judge Kim Jung-ah ruled that Hwan-bong's guilt was not proven by the prosecution's evidence. Judge Jung-ah stated: "“As a member of the judiciary, I want to make it clear that the execution of the ruling was by illegal power of the government and I make a deep apology."" |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Ruben Martinez, National Registry of Exonerations" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2020/01/558259/s-korean-court-acquits-man-72-years-after-his-execution |
Information Source 2: |
"Supreme Court orders retrial for late victims in Yeosu-Suncheon uprising, By Kim Seung-yeon (Writer), Yonhap News Agency, March 21, 2019" |
Information Location 2: |
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20190321006651315 |
Information Source 3: |
"Supreme Court accepts retrial of victims of Yeosu-Suncheon incident, By Staff, Hankyoreh (hani.co.kr), March 24, 2019 " |
Information Location 3: |
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/887128.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org