335 prisoners who were wrongfully convicted and imprisoned during the April 3rd Incident have been acquitted at retrials. It’s the largest number of acquittals for a single history event.

The retrial procedures are expected to speed up with the passage of the revised April 3rd Special Act.

Mike Laidman reports.


Report

The Jeju District Court held retrials for hundreds of former prisoners wrongfully convicted and imprisoned during the infamous April 3rd Incident.
As the acquittal verdict for defendants who remain missing was passed down, attendees wiped tears from their faces.

This Tuesday, the Jeju District Court acquitted victims who were unjustly convicted and wrongfully imprisoned by military and civilian courts seven decades ago.


Victims were originally imprisoned for the false charges of insurrection or violation of the National Guards Act.
Prosecutors had sought not-guilty verdicts for all defendants, saying there was no evidence to corroborate the allegations against them.
The judge offered words of consolation to the victims and bereaved families following the acquittal sentence.

The event marked the nation's largest-ever retrial, involving the largest number of defendants in a single case.
However, there remain a number of victims who have yet to be cleared of their charges.


The official list of convicted victims has 2,530 names.
Among them, about 1,000 have no remaining family.
The remaining retrial procedures are expected to speed up with the passage of the revised April 3rd Special Act. These are planned to be held at the prosecution’s behest, rather than as individual requests.
Mike Laidman, KCTV