Lee Jae-myung, the president, said on the 21st that the civil and criminal statutes of limitations for violent crimes committed by state power should be completely abolished. In cases such as the Jeju 4·3 incident where state institutions abused their authority to commit anti-human-rights crimes against civilians, he said the statute of limitations for prosecution should be removed, and when victims or bereaved families file claims for damages against the state, the extinctive prescription set out in the Civil Act should also be deleted to impose permanent responsibility like Nazi war criminals.
Presiding over a senior secretaries meeting at the Blue House that afternoon, the president said, "State violence is a serious anti-human and antisocial crime that tramples on the people's human rights and lives with powers delegated by the sovereign for the safety of the people and a better life," adding, "Considering the harm to our community and its persistence, it is not just to treat it on the same level as other crimes."
He added, "Nazi war crimes are still being held accountable and compensated," and said, "We should promptly conclude legislative measures that fundamentally exclude the statute of limitations for prosecution and the extinctive prescription for civil claims for damages for state violence crimes."
◇ Passed the National Assembly plenary under the Yoon administration, veto exercised
Earlier, on Dec. 2024, the National Assembly passed at a plenary session the Special Act on the Statute of Limitations, etc., for Anti-human-rights State Crimes, led by the then-opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The government and ruling party opposed it for reasons including that it "undermines the foundation of the statute of limitations system," and Choi Sang-mok, then acting president, exercised the right to request reconsideration (veto).
The president said, "It has already passed (the National Assembly) once before, and you will all remember that it was scrapped due to a veto by the previous administration," adding, "The state-level compensation system needed for victim recovery should also be quickly overhauled, and we should hurry to revoke decorations received for involvement in state violence."