A 53-year-old man who was cleared after serving 20 years for the murder of a woman who was in fact the victim of a notorious serial killer will receive W2.5 billion in compensation (US$1=W1,143).
The Suwon District Court ordered the payment of W2.52 billion compensation to Yoon Sung-yeo, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of the eighth victim of serial killer Lee Chun-jae. He was sentenced to life behind bars in 1990 and had done his time before Lee confessed his crimes last year when DNA samples pointed to him.
Yoon filed a lawsuit in January demanding compensation from the state, and the court accepted the total amount he sought. A court source said the ruling "took into consideration the type of incarceration and duration, losses incurred due to imprisonment and psychological suffering."
The minimum daily pay Yoon lost out on was therefore calculated based on the 2020 minimum wage of W68,720. The law caps compensation at five times the minimum daily pay, which equals W343,600. That amount was then multiplied by the 7,326 days Yoon languished in jail.
The court arrived at its decision on March. 5, but more time will be needed before Yoon receives the money. Yoon also wants to seek compensation from the National Forensic Service and police for their wrongdoings in investigating him as well as state compensation for the psychological damage his family suffered due to his imprisonment.
