Seoul Court Orders Pyongyang to Pay Damages to North Korean Defector Over Torture
Key Takeaways
- •The Seoul Central District Court ruled that North Korea must compensate defector Choi Min-kyung, who filed her lawsuit in July 2025 seeking 50 million won ($36,300) in damages.
- •Choi said she was forcibly repatriated from China in 2008 after defecting in 1997 and suffered sexual abuse, physical violence and inhumane treatment during about five months in North Korean detention facilities.
- •Her legal argument relied on the South Korean Constitution treating the entire Korean Peninsula as its territory and recognizing North Koreans as citizens, which she contended permits suits against Pyongyang in Southern courts.
- •The court proceedings moved forward without any representative appearing for the North Korean side.
- •Despite the favorable ruling, the plaintiff is expected to face difficulty actually collecting compensation, as has occurred in previous civil lawsuits against North Korea.
A South Korean court ruled Friday that North Korea must compensate a North Korean defector who says she was tortured while detained in the North.
The Seoul Central District Court issued the ruling in a lawsuit filed in July 2025 by Choi Min-kyung, head of the North Korea Imprisonment Victims' Family Association, against the Pyongyang regime. She sought 50 million won ($36,300) in damages for her suffering.
According to Choi, she defected from North Korea in 1997 but was forcibly repatriated in 2008 while staying in China. During roughly five months in detention facilities in the North, she said she suffered human rights violations including sexual abuse, physical violence and inhumane treatment.
Choi has argued that litigation against North Korea is possible in South Korean courts, citing the South Korean Constitution's definition of the entire Korean Peninsula as its territory and its recognition of people in the North as South Korean citizens. The case also highlights how South Korean courts can still hear claims tied to alleged abuses in North Korea even when the defendant side does not appear, leaving the judgment important as a legal finding even if collection remains uncertain.
The court hearings proceeded without any party representing the defendants.
Despite winning the case, the plaintiff may find it difficult to actually receive the compensation, as has been the case in previous civil lawsuits filed against North Korea.
Source: The Korea Times
