Lawsuit filed over martial law

[Anchor]

Recently, there was a ruling that former President Yoon Suk Yeol must compensate citizens who suffered due to the emergency martial law with 100,000 won each.

This time, over 12,000 citizens have filed a lawsuit against former President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, demanding compensation for the martial law.

Reporter Shin Hyun-wook has the details.

[Report]

"Compensate for the damages caused by the emergency martial law," this time over 12,000 citizens have gathered.

The defendants include not only former President Yoon Suk Yeol but also his spouse, First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

The citizens claim that former President Yoon declared the emergency martial law to block the 'special investigation into Kim Keon-hee'.

There are also claims that First Lady Kim was in contact with those involved in the martial law via a private phone, leading to the lawsuit on the grounds that the couple is a 'joint tortfeasor' and should bear joint responsibility.

[Kim Kyung-ho/Lawyer: "Many of our citizens have expressed significant public anger towards Kim Keon-hee. The motivation for the emergency martial law was to cover up the Kim Keon-hee risk."]

The amount claimed by the plaintiffs is 100,000 won per person.

Among the couple's assets, approximately 8 billion won, First Lady Kim's personal assets are 7.3 billion won, and if the citizens win, compensation will have to be paid from these assets.

The key issue is proving the causal relationship between the emergency martial law and the mental suffering.

Previously, in a lawsuit filed by 104 citizens claiming mental damages due to the martial law against former President Yoon, the court recognized liability for compensation, stating, "It is evident from experience that mental suffering occurred," even without evidence of damages.

Since this ruling, lawsuits for 'martial law compensation' have been following across the country.

However, as only the first-instance ruling has been issued and the causal relationship between individual damages and the martial law has been broadly recognized, there is a possibility that different judgments may arise in separate lawsuits.

This is KBS News, Shin Hyun-wook.