The Ministry of Justice will drop its statute of limitations defense in government compensation lawsuits over past state wrongs. It will not argue the completion of the statute of limitations for damages claims that victims and bereaved families who received truth-finding decisions have filed or will file for the next three years.
The Ministry of Justice said on the 2nd that it withdrew appeals in government compensation suits it had contested on statute of limitations grounds and will retract the same arguments in ongoing related cases. In line with the purpose of the Past Affairs Settlement Act, which took effect in Feb., it said it will broaden relief and promptly proceed with compensation procedures.
The amended Past Affairs Settlement Act allows government compensation claims within three years from the law's effective date even if the statute of limitations has already expired, when a truth-finding decision has been issued. The move is seen to mean the state will not use the statute of limitations to block compensation during the relief period opened by the law.
The Ministry of Justice completed the withdrawal of appeals in two second-instance cases filed by 74 victims and bereaved families recognized by truth-finding, including the Haenam County civilian massacre case. It also plans to withdraw the statute of limitations defense in 826 government compensation suits filed by 13,198 victims and bereaved families recognized by truth-finding.
Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said the ministry decided not to assert the statute of limitations in keeping with the purpose of the Past Affairs Settlement Act, as an act of reflection and settlement for state violence during the authoritarian era. As a result, the key issues in past-affairs lawsuits are likely to shift from whether the statute has run to state liability and the scope of compensation.