A South Korean court has posthumously acquitted a man who was sentenced to prison in 1981 for allegedly praising North Korea, finding that authorities forced his confession and that his comments did not pose a threat.

In an April 7 retrial, the Busan District Court acquitted the man, identified by his surname Park, of charges of violating the National Security Act for making pro-North Korea statements to acquaintances between June 1978 and Jan. 1981, according to a court spokesperson.

Park had been accused of telling neighbors that U.S. troops must withdraw from the South for the sake of unification, according