South Korea's government won the first ruling in a 44.6 billion won ($32 million) damages suit against North Korea over the 2020 demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office.
The 46th civil division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Hyung-chul, ruled on Sept. 16 that "the defendant shall pay the plaintiff 44.6 billion won plus delayed interest." The first-instance decision came about three years and three months after the government filed the suit in June 2023. It also marks the first time the government, rather than an individual, has won a damages suit brought directly against North Korea.
The joint liaison office was set up at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in September 2018 under the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration reached that year during the Moon Jae-in administration. About 18 billion won of South Korean budget funds went into building the office. North Korea blew it up in June 2020, about two years later, citing the distribution of anti-Pyongyang leaflets by some North Korean defector groups.
The government filed suit in June 2023, arguing that the demolition was a clear illegal act. It calculated the claim at 44.6 billion won, combining 10.2 billion won in damage to the office itself and 34.4 billion won in damage to the comprehensive support center building and other structures caused by the blast. The government said North Korea's liability was clear because South Korean budget funds paid for construction, even though the land where the office stood is owned by the North.
The case was delayed because court documents were difficult to serve on North Korea. Proceedings formally opened in April last year after the court accepted the government's request for service by public notice in December 2024.
