Sidelights | The Attorney: Political Struggle in 1980s South Korea—How the Law Was Abused

In 1980s South Korea, under the near-absolute military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan, an apparatus strictly penalizing dissenting voices and the National Security Act continuously suppressed democratic awareness. In response to protests, the government exploited tensions with North Korea to label demonstrators as "communists" and arrest them, subsequently subjecting them to torture to secure the continuation of its rule.

Set in Busan in 1981, local police arrested members of the so-called "Busan Reading Club," accusing them of reading banned books and spreading treasonous thoughts. However, perplexingly, the "banned books" read by these students were actually available on the open market, and some were even recommended reading materials from Seoul National University. How, then, were these students convicted? The answer lay in their uniform confessions.

High-ranking officials in the film particularly emphasized: "We cannot let the Gwangju Uprising happen again." The Gwangju Uprising occurred in 1980, when the government used tear gas and live ammunition against protesting citizens. Foreign journalists risked their lives to document the event, and ultimately, through the sacrifice and shelter of a series of individuals, they escaped South Korea, bringing this atrocity to light. Consequently, in 1981, the government was desperate to arrest students reading books, even though they were by no means communists. How, then, did they force the students to provide completely identical confessions? The answer was torture.

Defendants taking the witness stand recounted inhuman treatment such as being beaten with iron rods, subjected to waterboarding, and suspended from poles. However, what drove them to deepest despair was that once they told a lie, they had to pile lies upon lies, because discrepancies existed among the confessions extracted from the students under torture. Thus, they were forced to endure continued torment to guide them in "recalling" further details. Eventually, through the moral testimony of a military doctor, the truth of the torture was exposed. However, he was immediately smeared by superiors, accused of being a deserter, and claimed to be untrustworthy; ultimately, the students were sentenced to three years in prison.

South Korea has long taken pride in producing films based on true events, yet this also reflects the reality we confront. The defense attorney originally practiced law merely to make money, but after getting to know the defendant and his mother, he began to realize the gravity of social issues. The film concludes with a tribute to the 1987 social movement triggered by the torture and death of university student Pak Chong-ch'ol. While this attorney may have initially considered demonstrations as merely acts by those unwilling to study seriously or as futile gestures, he ultimately stood on the front lines of protest to accuse the government. Most impressively, when he took the defendant's seat, the defense counsel asked the judge to verify whether all defense attorneys were present. The judge picked up the documents to flip through them and asked in astonishment, "Are all of these?" On that day in Busan, out of a total of 142 attorneys, 99 participated in the trial and served as defense counsel. As the film says, though our strength is weak, the students steadfastly replied: "A stone is dead, but an egg gives birth to life." In the face of power, we must bravely stand up; although most efforts may seem futile, in the end, justice will answer our call.