[Breaking] Court Recognizes North Korea's Responsibility for 'Liaison Office Bombing'... "Orders North Korea to Pay 44.6 Billion Won in Compensation to the Government of the Republic of Korea"

[Financial News] The court recognized North Korea's liability for 44.6 billion won in damages for blowing up the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in Kaesong in 2020.
On the 16th, the 46th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Kim Hyeong-cheol, ruled entirely in favor of the plaintiff in the damages lawsuit filed by the Government of the Republic of Korea against North Korea.
The total damages were set at approximately 44.626 billion won, and North Korea was also ordered to bear the late-payment interest and litigation costs.
Before delivering the ruling that day, the court said, "As this case proceeded through service by public notice, reporters may judge whether it has significant legal meaning."
The trial had been suspended because it was difficult to serve documents on the defendant, North Korea. Proceedings resumed after the court accepted the government's application for service by public notice in December 2024.
Service by public notice is a system under which, when the whereabouts of the opposing party in a lawsuit are unknown, a summons or other documents are posted on a court bulletin board or elsewhere and are deemed delivered after a certain period has passed.
The Inter-Korean Liaison Office was established in the Kaesong Industrial Complex on the 14th of that year in accordance with the Panmunjom Declaration adopted by the leaders of South and North Korea in 2018.
However, two years later, North Korea took issue with defector groups scattering leaflets toward North Korea and unilaterally blew up the building in retaliation.
The Government of the Republic of Korea sought approximately 44.7 billion won in damages, combining the losses to the office building and the adjacent Comprehensive Support Center building, and most of the claim was accepted.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Lee Chang-hoon Reporter