Court orders Pyongyang to pay N. Korean defector damages for torture
A South Korean court ruled Friday that North Korea must compensate a North Korean defector who claims she was tortured while detained in the North. The Seoul Central District Court made the ruling in a lawsuit filed by Choi Min-kyung, head of the North Korea Imprisonment Victims' Family Association, against the Pyongyang regime in July last year, seeking 50 million won ($36,300) in compensation…
A South Korean court has ordered North Korea to pay damages to a North Korean defector, Choi Min-kyung, for the torture she endured while detained in the North. Choi, who founded the North Korea Imprisonment Victims Family Association, filed a lawsuit in July 2022 seeking 50 million won ($36,300) in compensation for her suffering.
She claims she defected from North Korea in 1997 but was forcibly returned to the country in 2008 while in China. During her five-month detention in North Korea, she alleges she faced sexual abuse, physical violence, and inhumane treatment. The court ruled that South Korea's territory definition and recognition of North Koreans as its citizens allow for litigation against the Pyongyang regime in South Korean courts.
However, the absence of a defendant's representative in the proceedings may complicate the enforcement of the ruling.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
