South Korea: 11,000 citizens to file compensation suit against ex-presidential couple over martial law

Seoul, Aug 17 (IANS) Around 11,000 South Korean citizens plan to file a lawsuit against former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, seeking compensation for damages from his imposition of martial law last year, legal sources said Sunday.

Kim Kyeong-ho, a lawyer from the law firm Hoin, will file the suit with the Seoul Central District Court on Monday on behalf of 11,000 claimants, seeking 100,000 won ($72) in compensation per person, the sources said, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The plaintiffs argued that Yoon's imposition of martial law in December constituted willful criminal acts against people's basic rights and inflicted irreparable damage to their dignity as members of a democratic society, holding Yoon responsible for compensation.

They also held his wife, Kim Keon Hee, as an accomplice who helped trigger Yoon's martial law declaration, arguing she is also responsible for compensation.

It marks the first reported lawsuit seeking compensation from Kim over the martial law debacle.

In the first ruling on similar suits late last month, the Seoul Central District Court ordered Yoon to pay 100,000 won in compensation to 104 plaintiffs for his martial law imposition, prompting a series of similar compensation claims.

Yoon appealed the court ruling to a higher court and filed for an injunction seeking to suspend its implementation, which the court conditionally granted.

Meanwhile, special prosecutors investigating corruption allegations against South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee were deliberating over the charges to press against her after securing a luxury necklace she allegedly accepted in exchange for a personnel appointment favour, legal sources said on Sunday.

Last week, special counsel Min Joong-ki's team said Seohee Construction officials submitted the Van Cleef and Arpels necklace and confessed to gifting the item to Kim right after her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, was elected in March 2022, seeking a government job for the company chairman's son-in-law.

The son-in-law, a former prosecutor, was appointed as the chief of staff for then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo three months later.

Kim has reportedly denied the allegation, arguing that the necklace she wore during a 2022 trip to Europe was not authentic.

Given the evidence, special prosecutors could press charges of bribery through mediation against Kim, considering that she did not hold any public office and did not have any authority to make any personnel appointments.

Under the law, bribery charges apply to people typically holding public office who provide a benefit in exchange for the bribe, compared with bribery through mediation, when a third party is involved to facilitate the transaction.

In order to apply bribery charges, special prosecutors would need to prove that Yoon himself accepted the necklace, placing Kim as an accomplice in the case.

--IANS

int/akl/vd