In 1974 the fascist clique took them to the puppet Central Intelligence Agency and the police without warrants of arrest on charges of taking the lead in the struggle for having the "yusin constitution" rescinded and "emergency step" lifted. They put those to harsh torture and sentenced them to prison terms, ten years to the maximum.

The Seoul High Court gave the verdict of not guilty to them, declaring the "emergency step" No. 1, which was cited as the reason for sentencing them and which encroached upon the people's basic rights, as illegal and invalid. The court admitted that their activities are not crimes.