Court Rules Against Han Myeong-sook in State Compensation Lawsuit Over 'NIS Illegal Surveillance'... "Statute of Limitations Expired"

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook filed a lawsuit against the state seeking damages but lost the case. The court acknowledged the state's liability for compensation but ruled that the statute of limitations had expired, preventing the exercise of the right to claim state compensation.

Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 29th, Judge Kim Hyo-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 201 recently ruled against former Prime Minister Han in the damages claim lawsuit she filed against the state.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Han sued for 31 million won in damages, alleging that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) conducted illegal surveillance by using a "special mission team" in 2009 to investigate her background and posted defamatory comments on the internet to create a hostile public opinion.

Judge Kim acknowledged the NIS's illegal actions and ruled that "the state is responsible for compensating the plaintiff for the mental damages suffered under the State Compensation Act." However, he accepted the state's argument that "the right to claim state compensation expired five years after the surveillance activities."

Han's side argued that this was a special case and that the statute of limitations should not apply. However, the court rejected this, stating, "If the statute of limitations is applied differently for each individual case under the pretext of considering the uniqueness of the matter, it could undermine legal stability."

Judge Kim also noted, "The ultimate purpose of this lawsuit appears to be not to receive monetary compensation but to legally confirm the illegality of the NIS's covert operations against the plaintiff," referring to the fact that NIS officials involved in the case have already been found guilty.

Judge Kim mentioned that the National Intelligence Service Act was completely revised in 2020 with political neutrality as its core, and that the NIS director issued a public apology in 2021 regarding past illegal surveillance and political interference. He added that through these subsequent state measures, the mental damages suffered by former Prime Minister Han have been symbolically, at least in part, compensated.