▲ This May 12, 2023, file photo shows a group of fishermen, who had been wrongly imprisoned after being released from captivity in North Korea five decades ago, cheering outside the Chuncheon District Court in Chuncheon, 75 kilometers east of Seoul, after they were cleared of violations of anti-communist and security laws in a retrial. (Yonhap)

abducted fishermen-retrial

50 years later, court acquits 3 fishermen wrongly imprisoned upon return from captivity in North Korea

CHUNCHEON, South Korea, June 23 (Yonhap) -- A court on Friday acquitted three fishermen who were wrongly imprisoned over five decades ago after being released from captivity in North Korea.

In a retrial held at the Chuncheon District Court, Lee Sung-guk, 69, was cleared of charges, including the violation of the National Security Act.

The fisherman from Chuncheon, 75 kilometers east of Seoul, was abducted by North Korea on Oct. 25, 1971, and returned to the South 11 months later.

In 1972, he was sentenced to one year of imprisonment, suspended for two years, on charges to which he claimed to have falsely confessed due to torture by investigators.

In April 1981, he was once again arrested on the same charges and subjected to torture during 86 days of confinement. He received a 10-year prison sentence and served nine years before being released on parole in 1990.

During Friday's trial, the prosecution requested a not guilty verdict for Lee, which Judge Lee Young-jin accepted.

Later in the day, the court also issued acquittals for two other fishermen who had been imprisoned after their release from North Korea about 50 years ago.

On May 12, in a separate retrial in the city, 32 fishermen who were abducted by North Korea in 1971 and released in 1972 were cleared of violations of anti-communist and security laws.

The Chuncheon District Prosecutors Office is currently pursuing retrials for an additional 93 fishermen who were charged and imprisoned in similar cases.

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