A Korean War POW Who Won Damages Against the North: "I Defeated North Korea"

Kim Sung-tae and Two Others Win Lawsuit Against North Korean Regime
Court Orders "Each to Pay 50 Million Won in Damages"
Originally 5 Plaintiffs... 3 Passed Away Due to Trial Delays

A South Korean prisoner of war (POW) who was captured by North Korean forces during the Korean War and endured decades of forced labor before defecting, along with his bereaved family, won a damages lawsuit against the North Korean authorities. This symbolic ruling by the South Korean judiciary acknowledges the physical and mental harm caused by North Korea's forced labor, but it is expected to be difficult to actually receive compensation from North Korea.

On the 8th, Judge Shim Hak-sik of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 212 ruled that the defendant, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (represented by Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea), must pay 50 million won each to plaintiff Kim Sung-tae (91), Yoo Young-bok, and the bereaved family of the late Lee Kyu-il, who filed the damages lawsuit.

Kim Seong-tae, a South Korean soldier who was captured by North Korea during the Korean War and later defected, is speaking about his feelings at a press conference held on the morning of the 8th at the courthouse intersection in Seocho-dong, Seoul, after winning a damages lawsuit against North Korea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In September 2020, Kim and others filed a damages claim lawsuit against North Korea, stating that "North Korea and Kim Jong-un must compensate for the physical and mental damages caused by forced labor." This came shortly after another lawsuit filed in July 2020 by two other South Korean POWs against North Korea and Kim Jong-un, in which the court recognized liability for compensation in the 'first ruling' of its kind. Kim and others claimed that they were captured during the Korean War and taken to North Korea, where from September 1953 they were assigned to the Ministry of Interior Construction Unit and forced to work in coal mines for 33 months. They were then forcibly integrated into North Korean society and lived there until defecting one after another between 2000 and 2001.

The first trial was held on the 18th of last month, 31 months after the lawsuit was filed. The trial was delayed without proper reason, the presiding judges were replaced three times, and after public notification procedures, the final verdict took 32 months to be issued. Public notification is a method where the court posts the lawsuit documents on a bulletin board or similar when delivery is impossible, and it is considered delivered. During the delay, three plaintiffs?Lee Won-sam, Yoo Young-bok, and Lee Kyu-il?passed away, and the parties representing Lee Won-sam and Yoo Young-bok withdrew their lawsuits. Subsequently, the claimed amount was increased from 21 million won to 50 million won each.

Immediately after the ruling, Kim held a press conference with the nonprofit organization Mulmangcho in front of the Seoul Central District Court, saying, "I returned to my homeland for a day as joyful and meaningful as today, but my parents and siblings have all passed away, so I could not meet them," and added, "I will continue to fight for the Republic of Korea until the day I die."

Kim Seong-tae, a South Korean POW who was captured by North Korea during the Korean War and later defected, is speaking about his feelings at a press conference held on the morning of the 8th at the courthouse intersection in Seocho-dong, Seoul, after winning a damages lawsuit against North Korea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, it is expected to be difficult for Kim and others to actually receive the damages from North Korea. Earlier, in July 2020, two South Korean POWs including Han Jae-bok, who won the first damages lawsuit against North Korea, filed a collection lawsuit against the South-North Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation (Korea Foundation for Economic and Cultural Cooperation, KFECC), which holds copyright royalties entrusted by North Korea, demanding that it pay the damages on North Korea's behalf. However, they lost in the first trial last year. Han passed away at the age of 89 in February this year before the appeal trial verdict was announced.

Park Sun-young, director of Mulmangcho, suggested, "I believe it is the proper duty of our government to first pay the damages that the North Korean regime owes to the elderly South Korean POWs, and then exercise subrogation rights against KFECC or North Korea." She added, "We will do our best in the second lawsuit against KFECC and hope this ruling will have a positive impact on the appeal trial of the collection lawsuit."

Jung Soo-han, chairman of the Mulmangcho POW Repatriation Committee and a retired army brigadier general, said, "We welcome that our courts have issued stern rulings twice against North Korea's criminal acts," and added, "The elderly South Korean POWs did not seek money but wanted to hold North Korea accountable for the illegal detention and forced labor they endured for a long time and to restore their honor. It is fortunate that their wish has been fulfilled, albeit belatedly."

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