Last Year's Daegu District Court Pohang Branch Ruling
Compensation of 2 to 3 Million KRW per Person Recognized
National Compensation Expected to Reach 2 Trillion KRW
There is a growing number of state compensation lawsuits demanding the government compensate for damages caused by the 2017 and 2018 Pohang earthquakes. In Gyeongbuk, including Pohang City, over 500 earthquake-related state compensation lawsuits are underway. This follows last year’s court ruling recognizing the state’s liability to compensate Pohang citizens. As the majority of Pohang residents participate in these lawsuits, there are predictions that the total amount the government will ultimately have to pay could reach trillions of won.
According to the prosecution, as of the 12th, there are 519 first-instance cases and 25 appeals related to the Pohang earthquake under the jurisdiction of the Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office. The Daegu High Prosecutors’ Office covers Gyeongbuk and Daegu Metropolitan City. Lawsuits continue to be filed in Seoul as well, so the number of Pohang earthquake state compensation lawsuits is expected to increase further.
The surge in related state compensation lawsuits began after the court ruling last year that recognized the state’s liability. Previously, in November last year, the 1st Civil Division of the Pohang Branch of the Daegu District Court ruled in a lawsuit filed by about 50,000 Pohang citizens who suffered earthquake damage against the state and five companies including POSCO and Nexgeo, stating that “the state and others must pay each plaintiff 2 to 3 million won in consolation damages” (2019gahap10144).
The ruling ordered 3 million won to be paid to citizens who experienced both the magnitude 5.4 Pohang earthquake on November 15, 2017, and the magnitude 4.6 aftershock on February 11, 2018, and 2 million won to those who experienced only one of the two earthquakes. If the first-instance ruling is upheld, each participant in the lawsuit can receive 2 to 3 million won. Excluding private companies, the amount the government must compensate is 30.9 billion won, which could increase to 40 billion won considering delayed damages.
Following the court’s decision in favor of the citizens, the number of Pohang residents participating in related lawsuits has surged. According to the March statistics from the Pohang Earthquake Citizens’ Countermeasure Headquarters, about 490,000 Pohang residents, or 96% of the 2017 population, have joined the earthquake damage consolation damages claims. Applying the 3 million won consolation damages per person as per the first-instance ruling, the total consolation damages amount approaches 1.5 trillion won. Including statutory interest, it is predicted to reach around 2 trillion won. This is the largest-scale class action lawsuit against the state.
In response, the government has appointed the law firm Kwangjang for multiple Pohang earthquake-related lawsuits. As the compensation amount skyrocketed, the government belatedly hired a major law firm to respond. Recently, in some state compensation lawsuits, when provisional execution was ordered in the first instance, the government has applied for suspension of execution and reportedly obtained court approval.
The magnitude 5.4 earthquake that occurred in Pohang in November 2017 was the second largest since earthquake observations began, causing numerous casualties and property damage. In March 2019, the government investigation team announced that the Pohang earthquake was triggered by geothermal power generation. Accordingly, the Countermeasure Headquarters filed earthquake-related damage compensation lawsuits against the state and POSCO, and also filed complaints and accusations against the geothermal power project operators and supervisors.
Reporter Im Hyun-kyung, Legal Times
※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.
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