A South Korean man abducted by North Korea in the 1970s rejected a court-recommended settlement against the South Korean government and demanded a formal apology for being falsely convicted of spying for the DPRK.

The Seoul High Court’s Chuncheon branch recommended Friday that the government pay $28,347 (42.6 million won) to Kim Chun-sam in damages after he was tortured by South Korean intelligence authorities and convicted of espionage.

The court’s recommendation would have required the government to compensate Kim if neither party filed an objection within 14 days; however Kim appealed, believing that a government apology was necessary in addition