Tobacco Industry: "Smoking Is a Personal Choice, Not Responsible for Cancer"... National Health Insurance Service Considers Appeal (Comprehensive)

Court: "Cannot rule out other causes of disease occurrence"
Tobacco Industry: "Respect court's judgment, smoking is a personal choice"
NHIS: "Considering appeal... Will continue to reveal tobacco damage"

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Seon-ae and Seo So-jung] After 15 intense legal battles over six years, the judiciary sided with the tobacco companies. Ultimately, the Supreme Court precedent was not overturned, and the harmfulness of tobacco and the corresponding responsibility of tobacco companies were not recognized.

Tobacco Industry Breathes a Sigh of Relief: "Respect the Court's Judgment"

On the morning of the 20th at 10 a.m., the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 22 (Presiding Judge Hong Ki-chan) ruled against the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in the first trial of the damages claim lawsuit filed against KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and BAT Korea. The tobacco industry expressed respect for the court's judgment.

KT&G stated, “We respect the court’s careful and thoughtful judgment,” adding, “This ruling clarified that since the plaintiff paid treatment costs to individual patients, a claim for damages equivalent to the insurance payment amount against the manufacturer cannot be established. Moreover, it judged that epidemiological correlations alone cannot recognize a substantial causal relationship between the development of lung and laryngeal cancer in individual smoking patients and smoking.”

They continued, “Having already received a Supreme Court ruling in individual smoking lawsuits that there was no illegal act in the manufacture and sale of tobacco, this ruling is significant in reaffirming that KT&G committed no illegal acts in the first domestic lawsuit filed by a state agency against tobacco companies.” Korea Philip Morris and BAT Korea also briefly expressed their respect for the court’s judgment.

If the court had ruled in favor of the NHIS in this lawsuit, it would have overturned existing Supreme Court precedents and officially recognized the harmfulness of tobacco and the responsibility of tobacco companies, which was expected to cause significant repercussions. Previously, the tobacco industry expressed concerns that a victory for the NHIS would lead to massive compensation claims and a proliferation of similar lawsuits, negatively impacting the tobacco industry's business environment.

The NHIS’s tobacco battle began in earnest on April 14, 2014, five years ago. The NHIS filed a damages claim of approximately 53.7 billion KRW against three domestic and international tobacco companies: KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and BAT Korea. This came four days after the Supreme Court ruled against smokers who had filed damages claims for lung cancer caused by smoking, with the NHIS directly claiming damages after paying treatment costs to smokers. The NHIS’s lawsuit argued that tobacco companies should pay the enormous health insurance benefits spent on patients who developed diseases due to tobacco. The NHIS demanded medical expenses from 2003 to 2013 for patients who had smoked for over 30 years and smoked more than one pack a day for 20 years. The total number of patients was 3,484, and the calculated damages amounted to 53.7 billion KRW.

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@

A Total of 15 Legal Battles Over Six Years

From September 2014 until the trial was suspended in May 2018, both sides engaged in fierce disputes over 13 hearings. The trial resumed in September this year (14th hearing), and the hearings concluded on the 23rd of last month. The main issues in the lawsuit were whether the NHIS could directly claim damages, the causal relationship between smoking and lung or laryngeal cancer, the establishment of tobacco companies’ product liability, the establishment of tobacco companies’ liability for illegal acts, and the scope of damages. Both sides remained at an impasse, and the presiding judges changed twice during this period.

The NHIS emphasized that the causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer is scientifically clear, while tobacco companies acknowledged the harmfulness of tobacco but argued that the Supreme Court ruling did not recognize an individual causal relationship between smoking and lung cancer, and that cancer caused by smoking is a matter of personal choice, not the responsibility of tobacco manufacturers or sellers.

Regarding responsibility for smoking-related harm, tobacco companies argued that they warned about the dangers of tobacco through warning labels and that smokers voluntarily smoked, so they bear no responsibility for smoking-related harm. The NHIS countered that additives in the tobacco manufacturing process increased the risk and that smokers were not sufficiently warned to avoid the dangers of tobacco.

Regarding the qualification to directly claim damages, the NHIS argued that under current laws and precedents, it has the right to claim damages directly on behalf of smokers. However, tobacco companies strongly contended that since they are not the direct subjects of smoking-related harm, such lawsuits are inappropriate.

Seo Hong-gwan, Chairman of the Korea Anti-Smoking Association Movement Council, is holding a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court West Building in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 20th. On this day, the National Health Insurance Service lost a lawsuit claiming smoking damages against tobacco companies such as KT&G, Korea Philip Morris, and British American Tobacco (BAT) Korea. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

NHIS Considers Appeal

Following the first trial loss, the NHIS announced its intention to appeal, indicating that the lawsuit will likely be prolonged.

Kim Yong-ik, Director of the NHIS, said, “It is very shocking and regrettable that the existing Supreme Court ruling has been repeated,” adding, “We have made efforts to legally recognize the clear harm caused by tobacco, but we have confirmed once again that this path is not easy.” Regarding why tobacco companies are held liable in countries like the U.S. and Canada but not easily in Korea, Director Kim said, “I believe the social atmosphere to acknowledge tobacco harm is still insufficient,” and emphasized, “We will continue to shed light on this issue and strive to improve social awareness.”

Seo Hong-gwan, Chairman of the Korea Anti-Smoking Movement Association, criticized, “The harmfulness of tobacco has already been scientifically proven in many countries, and in advanced countries including the U.S., state governments have stepped in on behalf of smoking victims to reach large compensation settlements through lawsuits against tobacco companies. Despite medical opinions and scientific evidence from domestic and international experts and related institutions, this ruling once again sides with tobacco companies and goes against international trends.”

However, the prevailing view is that the plaintiff’s loss will be confirmed. Previously, in 1999, 30 people including Mr. Kim filed a damages claim against KT&G and the state, alleging cancer caused by smoking, but it took 15 years to reach a final verdict. In 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling against the plaintiffs, siding with tobacco companies. At that time, the Supreme Court judged that “smoking is a matter of personal free will, and it is difficult to confirm a direct causal relationship between individual cancer development and smoking.” Although the plaintiffs argued that tobacco companies did not sufficiently warn about the risks, the Supreme Court stated that “since tobacco was introduced to Korea in the 1600s, its potential harm to health and controversies over its effects have been ongoing.” Various attempts were made, including individual lawsuits by smokers in 2005 and a lawsuit by Gyeonggi Province in 2009 claiming fire damage compensation based on product defects in tobacco lacking fire safety features, but the plaintiffs lost.

However, there is also a perspective that the case may show a different pattern because several overseas rulings have recognized tobacco companies’ responsibility through tobacco lawsuits, and multinational corporations with a history of losing tobacco-related lawsuits due to leaked internal documents are involved. In the U.S., in 1999, 46 state governments filed a class-action lawsuit against tobacco companies for adding various additives to increase addictiveness and failing to adequately warn consumers, resulting in an astronomical settlement of $206 billion (approximately 228 trillion KRW).

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