The proposed amendment of the April 3rd Incident Special Act that will offer compensation for the victims and bereaved families has been passed by the National Assembly’s standing committee.

The final confirmation for the amendment will be made at the National Assembly’s plenary session.

Todd Thacker reports.

Report



The April 3rd Incident Special Act was passed in the year 2000 and has subsequently been amended five times.
These amendments have led to the creation of the April 3rd Peace Park, allocation of national funding to a memorial ceremony, and an investigation into the truth behind the incident at the national level.
However, these past revisions were limited.
The restoration of individual victims’ honor and compensation for the victims and bereaved families were not part of prior amendments.


The newly proposed overall amendment provides the basis for the restoration of individual victims’ honor and compensation for the victims and bereaved families for the first time.
If the amendment is passed, the victims and bereaved families can simply apply for a special retrial, suggested by the national government, without complicating individual applications.


Application for retrial normally takes six months or more.
After the amendment is made, victims and their families will be able to save time and money.
Some 4,300 people who were subject to unjust convictions and wrongfully imprisoned by military and civilian courts seven decades ago are expected to apply for the simplified procedure.


The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will determine the amount of the compensation and distribution methods after studying the matter. Funding for the compensation is expected to be included in the 2022 national budget.

With this year’s ceremony to commemorate the tragic incident fast approaching, the proposed amendment was passed at the last minute by the Legislative Subcommittee of the Public Administration and Security Committee of the National Assembly.

The amendment still needs to be approved at the National Assembly’s plenary session.

Todd Thacker, KCTV