By Kim Se-jeong
Court procedures for lawsuits over the countrys worst oil spill in waters off the coastal village of Taean in 2007 will pick up speed, court officials said Sunday.
The Office of Court Administration under the Supreme Court has put a special act in place, which streamlines procedures and requires courts to make rulings faster than usual.
The oil spill prompted nearly 110,000 victims to file damages suits against Samsung Heavy Industries and Hebei Spirit, the owner of a tanker, which were ruled liable for the incident, but the process has been notoriously slow.
Under the special act on the oil spill which will take into effect in July, a lower court will have to make a ruling within 10 months of a filing.
And an appellate court and the top court should deliver rulings within five months of previous verdicts.
In other words, the plaintiffs of the damage suits will be able to receive final verdicts by March 2015.
In December 2007, a Samsung Heavy Industries barge carrying a construction crane rammed an anchored tanker, which spilled more than 12,000 tons of oil into the West Sea near Taean. Beaches along the coast were polluted, and the regions fishing and tourism industries were badly damaged by the spill.
In January, a district court appraisal estimated that the spill caused damage worth almost 734 billion won or $694 million.
It was the first courts assessment in five years. Yet, its figures were disputed as the town residents claimed a much higher amount of compensation.