11,000 citizens to file compensation suit against ex-presidential couple over martial law
Then President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee arrive at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 11, 2024, after a trip to Southeast Asia. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog
Around 11,000 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.
The plaintiffs argued 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.