A Seoul court has ruled that North Korea should compensate the family of soldiers who were killed or wounded in action during an inter-Korean naval clash in 2002 and other servicemen who took part in the battle.
According to the legal community on Wednesday, the Seoul Central District Court decided the previous day in favor of eight people, including the widow of the late Staff Sergeant Han Sang-kook, who had filed a legal suit against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un seeking compensation.
The court ordered North Korea and Kim to pay each plaintiff 20-million won plus additional interest for delay in payment based on an annual rate of five percent calculated from the day of the incident.
As the North Korean side has not responded to the lawsuit, the court chose the alternative online listing of relevant documents, replacing the trial procedure of delivering them to the defendants, before reaching the verdict.
The inter-Korean naval skirmish, known as the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, occurred on June 29, 2002, when two North Korean patrol boats crossed into South Korean Waters on the West Sea and launched a surprise attack on a South Korean vessel. Some six seamen, including Han, were killed and 19 others wounded in the ensuing exchange of gunfire.
The plaintiffs lodged the suit in October 2020, claiming that they had suffered from physical and psychological trauma due to North Korea’s illegal actions.
It is unlikely, however, that they will be able to actually receive compensation from the North.
Source: KBS World Radio