국가의 조직적 불법행위에 대한 손해배상 책임과 소멸시효

Abstract

The so-called “manipulation case on ghostwriting the will” is one of the representative cases of public security prosecution in the 1990s. It is considered as a representative example of the abuse of the prosecution’s power and the misjudgment during the authoritarian regime. And it is referred to as Korean version of “the Dreyfus Affair” in that it continued to be investigated, prosecuted and convicted on grounds of handwriting and circumstantial evidence without any direct evidence. To the case, the Seoul District Court sentenced the accused to three years in prison and suspension of qualification for a year and six months for aiding and abetting a friend’s suicide on July 12, 1991. It took almost 24 years until the Supreme Court had finally upheld the judgment of acquittal on May 14, 2015, following the truth-clarification decision of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, a lawsuit that demands for damages to the State and individuals that are responsible for having deprived the victim and his family members of their life and time is still going on. On November 3, 2015, they filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Korea, two prosecutors who had investigated and indicted the victim and a appraiser who had handled the handwriting analysis. On July 6, 2917, The Seoul Central District Court sentenced that the Republic of Korea and the appraiser were responsible for only a portion of the damages arising from the illegal appraisals. The plaintiffs appealed but the Seoul High Court ruled on May 31, 2018, that the Republic of Korea except the appraiser was singly responsible for a portion of damages due to the illegal appraisals. In response, the plaintiffs brought a final appeal and are now waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling. In this article, I will review the course and main contents of the Seoul High Court's Ruling 2017Na2046920 on May 31, 2018, and in light of the precedent of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court regarding the application of extinctive prescription to the past human rights violation cases, examine the liability for damages of the State and individual public officials.