Court: "Those involved in 'North Korea Loudspeaker Corruption' are not liable to compensate the state"

The court ruled that the state is not liable for compensating damages to the parties convicted in the 'North Korea loudspeaker project corruption' case.

Court

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Civil Division 30 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jeong Chan-woo) ruled against the plaintiff in a damages lawsuit filed by the state against sound equipment manufacturer Inter-M and brokers and military officers.

They were indicted on charges of obtaining bidding information for North Korea loudspeakers through brokers in 2015-2016 and manipulating evaluation criteria to favor Inter-M, resulting in a contract worth 16.6 billion won. The broker and some military officers were convicted.

The state filed a lawsuit claiming damages of approximately 2.15 billion won, arguing that due to their corruption, defective loudspeakers with an audible range of less than 10 km were delivered. It also claimed that the contract price was unfairly high due to bid rigging.

However, the court stated, "It cannot be recognized that Inter-M had an obligation to deliver loudspeakers that meet a 10 km audible range under any weather conditions." It added, "If the loudspeakers provide sufficient sound and volume considering the usual operational environment, it is difficult to evaluate that they fail to meet the audible range standard." The court also said, "There is insufficient evidence to recognize that damages occurred due to the defendants' bid rigging, and no other evidence exists."

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