Name of Student: RICHIE H.

SALUBRE
Professor: ATTY. JHOY PALLONES
Subject: Human Rights

REACTION PAPER ON KOREAN MOVIE ENTITLED

MIRACLE IN CELL NO. 7

The Korean movie Miracle in Cell No.7 is about an intellectually impaired father
– Lee Yong-Gu who was imprisoned and sentenced to death because of allegedly
raping and murdering the daughter of the Police Commissioner. The story started and
ended in a mock trial wherein Lee Ye-Sung – Yong-Gu’s daughter, retrying her father’s
case where she was able to convince the judge that her father was innocent and that
what happened was purely an accident.

The movie revolves on the theme which tackles a father’s unconditional love to
his daughter, but it also strongly shows a concrete example of injustice and violations of
human rights. Yong-Gu was undoubtedly an innocent man and an intellectually
impaired person but due to the personal interest of the detectives of his case, they
tortured and tricked him and took advantage of his illness for Yong Gu to sign a sworn
statement indicating that he molested and killed the commissioner’s daughter. These
are blatant violation of the rights against torture, self-incrimination, and the rights of an
accused during custodial investigation.

During Yong-Gu’s time in prison, he made friends with his cellmates and made
them to believe that he was innocent. On the day of Yong-Gu’s trial, while waiting, he
was secretly hit by the police commissioner and threatened him that if he did not admit
the crime, Ye-Sung will have the same fate with the commissioner’s daughter. Yong-
Gu’s great love to his daughter led him to sacrifice himself and admitted the crime he
did not commit to keep his daughter safe. Thereafter, the judge immediately sentenced
the accused to death without looking thoroughly through all the evidence and Yong-
Gu’s condition. It is a blatant violation of the right of an accused to access to justice. The
court must be competent and impartial in all its proceedings.

Lee Yong – Gu was deprived of his life and liberty without the due process of
law. The investigators stood their case based on the forged sworn statement of the
accused, neglecting other facts like the main reason of the girl’s death and the
inconsistency of the statement forwarded by the detectives with the autopsy of the
victim’s body. Hence, the evidences presented in court are inadmissible.

The movie showed how powerful persons can influence people to do unlawful
things for their favor even if it results for an innocent loving father to die and leave his
beloved daughter. Lee Yong-Gu’s case is an example of the injustice that is happening
not only in Korea but also throughout the whole world.