Poet Kim Nam-joo Exonerated 46 Years After 'Namminjeon Incident'

Kim Nam-joo, a poet who was wrongfully imprisoned for his involvement in the 'Namminjeon Incident' during the Park Chung-hee regime, was declared not guilty 46 years later.

On September 2, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 28, led by Judge Han Dae-kyun, announced its verdict in the retrial of Kim, who had faced charges of violating the National Security Law and Anti-Communism Law.

The court found that Kim had been illegally arrested and detained during the investigation, and that he had been subjected to violence and coercion. As a result, the court ruled that most of the evidence collected by the authorities was obtained unlawfully and lacked evidentiary value.

Regarding the confessions made during the original trial, the court noted that the psychological pressure from the illegal investigation likely affected their credibility. The court stated, "Confessions alone cannot be deemed guilty without objective and clear evidence."

The 'Namminjeon' was formed in 1976 by Lee Jae-moon, Shin Hyang-sik, and Kim Byeong-gwon, former journalists of the Minjok Ilbo, aiming to criticize the Yushin regime and promote anti-imperialist national liberation movements. In 1979, following the distribution of pamphlets, over 80 members and associates were arrested.

Kim joined the Namminjeon Preparatory Committee in 1978 after participating in the Korean Democratic Struggle Committee (Minju). He was forcibly taken without a warrant in 1979 for allegedly publishing resistance poetry and producing anti-Yushin pamphlets. He was subsequently held illegally for 48 days and sentenced to 15 years in prison and a 15-year disqualification in 1980.

After serving 9 years and 2 months, Kim was released on parole in 1988 due to a suspension of his sentence. However, he suffered from various illnesses due to the aftereffects of torture and passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1994. He reportedly continued to write poetry in prison, using sharpened toothbrushes to inscribe his verses on milk cartons and aluminum foil.

Kim's collection of over 250 poems was published, starting with his first poetry book, 'Jinhonga,' in 1984, followed by 'My Knife, My Blood' and 'The Fatherland is One.'

In 2006, Kim was recognized by the Committee for the Restoration of Honor and Compensation for Democratic Movement Activists for his contributions against the Yushin regime, but his judicial honor was not restored until now. His family filed for a retrial in June 2024, and approximately two years after the court acknowledged the illegal detention, the not guilty verdict was finally issued.