The court has decided to reopen the trial of Kim Jae-kyu, former Director General of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, who was sentenced to death and executed for his involvement in the Oct. 26 incident. It has been five years since the bereaved family requested the retrial.
According to the legal community on the 19th, the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7 (presided over by Director General Lee Jae-gwon) has decided to initiate a retrial regarding the charges of murder for insurrection against the former Director General.
The court stated, "It can be acknowledged that investigators from the Joint Investigation Team during the martial law period engaged in acts of violence and abuse, such as beating and electric torture while interrogating the defendant," and noted, "This constitutes a criminal offense of assault and abuse under the penal code."
The court continued, "Although it has been proven that judicial police officers involved in the investigation underlying the indictment committed job-related crimes, the statute of limitations has expired, preventing a definitive ruling, which constitutes grounds for a retrial as established by criminal procedure law."
Kim Jae-kyu was brought to trial on charges of murdering former President Park Chung-hee and former Chief of the Presidential Security Service Cha Ji-cheol on Oct. 26, 1979. Six months later, he was sentenced to death in May of the following year. The bereaved family requested a retrial from the Seoul High Court in May 2020, arguing that the Oct. 26 incident and Kim Jae-kyu should be reevaluated.
The court held the first hearing about four years after the retrial request, in April of last year. It is reported that lawyer Ahn Dong-il (84), who previously represented Kim Jae-kyu, attended in person to testify about the situation at that time.
Subsequently, the court proceeded until the third hearing and stated that after concluding the hearings, it would accept the prosecution's opinion and decide whether to begin the retrial.