The court acquitted two deceased fishermen of their false charges of spying for North Korea and made official apologies for its faulty judgment 38 years ago.

“There is insufficient evidence to prove that the defendants spied on state secrets under North Korean directions,” said the Gwangju High Court in its ruling.

“It may be presumed that they made false confession under duress.”

The two, surnamed Kim and Park, were kidnapped by North Korean ships while fishing in the West Sea near Yeonpyeong Island in 1982 and 1972, respectively.

Though they were sent back home later, they immediately faced prosecutorial indictment for allegedly supporting the communist regime and selling out state secrets, under the National Security Law.

Despite protests and appeals, both were sentenced to unsuspended jail terms, served the given penalty and have since died.

The retrial on their cases was later petitioned by family members.

The presiding judge, after reading out the ruling, also made an apology on behalf of the judiciary.

“The judiciary, by making a faulted decision decades ago, failed to perform its function as the last bastion of human rights,” said Judge Lee Chang-han.

“We, as members of the judiciary, offer our sincere apology and condolences to the deceased.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)