'6-Year Tobacco Lawsuit' NHIS Loses First Trial (Comprehensive)

Court: "Insufficient Evidence of Causal Link Between Smoking and Lung Cancer"
NHIS: "We Will Consider Appealing" Position

Kim Yong-ik, President of the National Health Insurance Service, is answering questions from the press on the 20th in front of the Seoul Central District Court West Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the National Health Insurance Service lost a lawsuit claiming damages for smoking against tobacco companies including KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) lost a lawsuit seeking compensation from domestic and international tobacco companies for losses caused by smoking. This is the court's first conclusion on the case, issued more than six years after the lawsuit was filed.

The Civil Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Hong Ki-chan) ruled on the morning of the 20th that the plaintiff lost the damages claim lawsuit filed by NHIS against three tobacco companies: KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and BAT Korea. The court stated, "The plaintiff's expenditure of insurance benefit costs to medical institutions is merely the execution of funds collected or supported under the National Health Insurance Act," and added, "Even if insurance benefits were paid causing a decrease in property or disadvantage, it is difficult to see that a legal interest was infringed." Furthermore, the court explained, "The plaintiff's expenditure of insurance benefit costs was only made based on the insurance relationship arising from health insurance enrollment," and "It is also difficult to recognize a causal relationship between the defendants' actions and the expenditure of insurance benefits."

Earlier, NHIS filed the lawsuit in April 2014 at the Seoul Central District Court demanding that tobacco companies compensate for medical expenses borne by the NHIS due to smoking. This was the first damages lawsuit filed by a public institution, not an individual, against tobacco companies. The claim amount was approximately 53.3 billion KRW, covering medical expenses borne by NHIS from 2003 to 2014 for about 3,400 people who smoked more than one pack a day for over 20 years and developed lung cancer or other diseases.

Kim Yong-ik, President of the National Health Insurance Service, is answering questions from reporters on the 20th in front of the Seoul Central District Court West Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. On the same day, the National Health Insurance Service lost a lawsuit claiming damages for smoking against tobacco companies including KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

The key issue in the trial was the causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer development. Previously, the Supreme Court ruled in similar lawsuits that cancer results from a complex interaction of congenital factors such as genetics and acquired factors such as dietary habits, and did not recognize individual causality. The court's judgment was consistent with the Supreme Court precedent. In particular, the court found that the evidence submitted by NHIS was insufficient to overturn the Supreme Court precedent. The court stated, "To recognize a causal relationship between smoking and diseases such as lung cancer, additional indirect facts must be proven during the evidence investigation process showing that it is difficult to consider other risk factors besides smoking, but the evidence submitted by the plaintiff only shows that the individuals had a smoking history of over 20 years and were diagnosed with the disease."

Immediately after the verdict, NHIS expressed its intention to consider an appeal. Kim Yong-ik, NHIS Director, said, "This is a very shocking and regrettable ruling," and added, "We will continue efforts to reveal and have the damages caused by smoking recognized, including filing an appeal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.