"Civil and Criminal Lawsuit Filed Against Kim Jong Un Over Crimes Against Humanity"

"First-Ever Lawsuit Filed by a North Korean-Born Defector"

A North Korean defector is filing a civil and criminal lawsuit in a South Korean court, holding Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and others accountable for crimes related to human rights violations.

The Human Rights Violation Support Center of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) announced on July 9 that it will submit a civil complaint to the Seoul Central District Court and a criminal complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on July 11, representing Choi Min-kyung, head of the Association of Families of North Korean Detainees.

Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea. Pyongyang, Korean Central News Agency Yonhap News Photo by Yonhap

Choi defected from North Korea in 1997 and was staying in China when she was forcibly repatriated in 2008. She claims that she was subjected to sexual abuse, physical violence, and inhumane torture for about five months in detention facilities in North Korea, including the State Security Department in Onsong City, North Hamgyong Province. She plans to file a criminal complaint against Kim Jong Un and four other officials affiliated with the State Security Department, accusing them of violating the Act on Punishment of Crimes under Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Choi stated, "I am approaching this with a desperate sense of duty to hold the Kim family’s three-generation hereditary regime accountable for its crimes against humanity," and added, "I hope this legal action will serve as an opportunity to draw both domestic and international attention to North Korea’s human rights issues."

The Center emphasized, "This is a historically significant case as it is the first lawsuit filed by a victim of human rights violations born in North Korea," and added that it plans to pursue further international procedures, including submitting the case to United Nations human rights bodies and the International Criminal Court (ICC).