Kyunghyang Shinmun:
”A Nation That Doesn't Fight Its People’s Grief”.
Posted to Paperslip on July 13th, 2025.
Thanks to a Paperslip Contributor for this article link.
Translation via ChatGPT.
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A Paperslip Contributor writes this response to the article:
”The government can file lawsuits. It can appeal. But the government doesn’t age. Those who were forcibly institutionalized at the Brothers Home as children are now elderly—and many have already passed away. The same is true for the families of disaster victims. Rights, even if eventually restored, cannot bring back the lives that have already slipped away.
For victims, the state is the final bastion of justice. But justice is not found in law alone. Compassion, urgency, and dialogue are also forms of justice that the state must embody. A constitutional democracy, grounded in both politics and the rule of law, must respond to victims not with litigation—but with policy.”
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Kyunghyang Shinmun:
”A Nation That Doesn't Fight Its People’s Grief”
”Opinion | Jeongdong Column
A Nation That Doesn't Fight Its People’s Grief
Published July 13, 2025, 21:08
Choi Tae-hyun, Professor at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Administration
The government frequently files lawsuits against its own citizens. In areas such as crime, taxation, and economic regulation, its high success rate in litigation against private actors who violate public interest symbolizes its ability to maintain order. However, this legal competence is sometimes exercised against victims of past state violence—those who seek justice through lawsuits. In such cases, the state often begins by denying wrongdoing, aggressively searching for faults in the victims, disputing the burden of proof, and repeatedly appealing rulings, thereby distorting the judicial process.
A notable example of the state being the defendant and denying its responsibility is the compensation lawsuit filed by the victims of the Brothers Home detention center. The illegal confinement at Brothers Home occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. The victims, many of whom were teenagers at the time, are now in their 60s and 70s. In 2021, some of them filed a compensation claim against the government and won the first trial. Yet, the government appealed, and only in March 2025 did the Supreme Court finally uphold the decision after the appeal was concluded in 2024. Just last week, on July 7, a ruling also held the local government—Busan City—responsible.
A similar case involved a lawsuit against the government for failing to revise regulations that would ensure accessibility for people with disabilities to small businesses, despite the law requiring it. This lawsuit, filed in 2018, took until 2024 to be finalized by the Supreme Court. It took seven years just to confirm the state’s inaction, which had persisted for over two decades.
While these lawsuits may seem like cases of “delayed justice,” the core issue is that we only live once. In the Brothers Home case, even after consistent losses in court, the government continued to appeal. In the disability rights case, the government was so effective it won both the first and second trials. While victims wait for the truth to be revealed and for those responsible to be held accountable, they grow old. One victim of Brothers Home passed away just days before the first trial verdict. For government officials, lawyers, and judges, these lawsuits may be just another task—but for the victims, they are life itself.
When the government sues or appeals against grieving citizens, it undermines the authority of lower courts, burdens the judiciary, and infringes on fundamental rights. Even worse, similar lawsuits are being fought simultaneously. Issues that should be resolved through democratic policymaking are instead being stalled under the guise of judicial review. The problem isn't just the judicialization of politics—it's that the government chooses litigation, not policy, as a way to confront its injured citizens. This is politicization through litigation.
The government’s litigation power comes from resources—taxes—provided by its citizens. Yet it uses this power to fund lawsuits that deny the rights of marginalized people, often dragging them through lengthy appeals even after initial losses. This behavior, driven more by bureaucratic inertia than public interest or honor, cannot be justified. The excuse that “setting a precedent would require too much funding” only reveals how widespread past state violence must have been.
The government should refrain from suing victims of state abuse or those still denied their rights. The first trial should be a forum for objective legal review, not a battle with the people, and it should be followed not by appeals but by policy discussions. Even if the government wins, it must avoid relying on current legal technicalities to defeat citizens. Instead, it must craft forward-looking policies to restore their rights and seek consensus. True justice means ensuring that victims never feel that the courtroom is their only option—it means offering meaningful guarantees and restoring dignity outside of legal proceedings.
On July 16, the new president will meet with families of victims of national tragedies. Beyond words of comfort and abstract promises, practical action is needed. Ongoing lawsuits involving the central government, local governments, and public institutions should be reviewed. The decision to appeal should be made with broader perspectives in mind. The Moon Jae-in administration chose not to appeal in cases like the forged will incident, while previous governments made similar decisions regarding the Inhyeokdang and Jeju April 3rd incidents. Unfortunately, those actions remained largely symbolic early in their terms. This new administration must take a further step—through institutional reform.
To victims, the state is the final bulwark of justice. Justice is not only found in law—it also lies in compassion, urgency, and dialogue. A constitutional democracy grounded in politics and rule of law must respond to the pleas of victims—not with lawsuits, but with policy.”