A young newspaper publisher executed in 1961 for collaborating with North Korea was acquitted in an emotional trial today, The Korea Times reported Wednesday.

Jo Yong-su, 32, founded the Minjok Ilbo (People's Newspaper) in February 1961, and was executed in December 1961, after he was convicted by a military court of setting his newspaper up with financial support from North Korea and of being a member of pro-Pyongyang underground organisations. Wednesday's ruling overturned the court's 1961 decision.

“The defendant is innocent,” Judge Kim Yong-seok of Seoul's Central District Court announced Wednesday, as Yong-su's family and friends wept and applauded, The Korea Times reported. Yong-seok also said there is no evidence that Yong-su was in any way tied to pro-North Korean activities.

Minjok Ilbo was established just months before Park Chung-hee, an army general at the time, overthrew the government in a coup May 16, 1961. The newspaper ran stories criticising the authoritarian regime, uncovering corruption among officials and promoting peaceful reunification with North Korea, according to The Korea Times.

Yong-su and his staffers were arrested shortly after the coup. The court sentenced him to death that August, an appeals court upheld the ruling in October and he was executed in December. His colleagues escaped the death penalty, and served jail terms.

“He would finally think half of his unresolved feelings have been relieved. I appreciate the judge's wise and fair judgment,” Jo Yong-jun, the late publisher's younger brother, told The Korea Times.