‘Emergency Martial Law Damages’ Lawsuit Against Yoon Suk-yeol... Will the Gwangju Trial Be Affected?

Seoul Central District Court: "Psychological harm... 100,000 won in compensation"
23 Gwangju citizens file claims... No trial date set for eight months
Plaintiffs: "Defending the rule of law"... Request for trial date resubmitted

As the damages lawsuit filed by Gwangju citizens against former President Yoon Suk-yeol, claiming psychological harm due to the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law' incident, has been pending for eight months, attention is now focused on whether a recent ruling by the Seoul Central District Court?recognizing former President Yoon's liability for a similar case?will influence the Gwangju trial.

Former President Yoon Seokyeol is entering the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 9th to attend a pre-arrest detention hearing. Photo by Joint Press Corps

According to the legal community on the 26th, on December 18 of last year, the Gwangju Women Lawyers Association filed a lawsuit at the Gwangju District Court on behalf of 23 citizens, seeking compensation for psychological distress from former President Yoon. The plaintiffs claimed, "We suffered shock and fear due to the unconstitutional and illegal imposition of martial law, with armed soldiers deployed to the National Assembly and elsewhere," and demanded 100,000 won per person in compensation. However, the case has remained pending in court for eight months without a hearing date after being assigned to a single judge.

After the Seoul Central District Court handed down a ruling in a similar nationwide lawsuit, the plaintiffs requested the Gwangju District Court to set a trial date once again. In its verdict the previous day, the Seoul court stated, "Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is obligated to pay compensation for the psychological damage suffered by the plaintiffs," and ordered that "each of the 104 plaintiffs be paid 100,000 won."

The Gwangju Women Lawyers Association, representing the current Gwangju lawsuit, stated, "We hope this lawsuit serves as an opportunity to express our commitment to defending democracy and to reaffirm the values of the Constitution and the rule of law."

Previously, a damages lawsuit filed against former President Park Geun-hye regarding the government corruption scandal was dismissed, so there is nationwide interest in whether civil liability for a martial law incident will be recognized for a former president in the history of Korea's constitutional government.