A Seoul court on Monday posthumously cleared a local man of espionage charges and apologized to his bereaved family a half century after he was executed for being a “double agent” for both Koreas.
Shim Moon-kyu was sent to North Korea to carry out espionage activities in 1955, two years after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce. Shim, however, was detected by the North and trained for one year and seven months to become a North Korean spy.
Upon returning home, Shim immediately turned himself in but Seoul’s top intelligence agency suspected he was a double agent working for the North. Shim was sentenced to death in 1961.
In 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a special committee established in 2005 to investigate past human rights violations, ruled that Shim’s case had been fabricated and requested a retrial.
In the retrial filed by Shim’s 63-year-old son, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that Shim was innocent.
“After reviewing investigative reports on Shim at the time, it is difficult to judge there was evidence proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Judge Lee Won-bum said in a ruling, adding that the decision was based on remaining records and new evidence submitted by Shim’s son as previous court records could not be found.
“This court offers a sincere apology and regrets for the judiciary failing to faithfully carry out its duty,” he added.
After the ruling was delivered, the younger Shim asked for the government to confirm where his father’s body was buried.
“I hope that prosecutors do not push forward with appeals, considering that I, myself, am an old man,” the surviving Shim told reporters. (Yonhap News)
