The 2022 documentary Free Chol Soo Lee tells the gripping true story of a landmark 1970s social justice movement sparked by a wrongful conviction in San Francisco. The Crime and Conviction
: Lee was identified by three white witnesses who struggled to distinguish Asian faces. The police also linked him to the crime because he had accidentally discharged a similar-caliber gun five days earlier. Despite having no connection to the Chinatown gangs, Lee was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The Fight for Freedom Free Chol Soo Lee YIFY
: On June 3, 1973, Yip Yee Tak , a member of the Wah Ching gang, was shot and killed in broad daylight on a crowded street corner in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The 2022 documentary Free Chol Soo Lee tells
: These articles ignited an unprecedented "pan-Asian" solidarity movement. For the first time, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans united under the Free Chol Soo Lee Defense Committee to raise funds for his legal defense. Despite having no connection to the Chinatown gangs,
: After spending ten years in prison—eight of which were on death row—Lee’s conviction was overturned. He was acquitted during a retrial and released on March 28, 1983. The Aftermath
: In 1977, investigative journalist K.W. Lee wrote a series of articles in the Sacramento Union questioning the investigation's integrity and highlighting racial profiling.
: Police arrested Chol Soo Lee , a 20-year-old Korean immigrant who worked odd jobs in the area.