Seoul: Former South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) again won a damages suit filed here against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday over forced labor they endured in captivity. The Seoul Central District Court ordered North Korea and Kim to pay 21 million won (US$14,000) each to five former POWs, who escaped from the North in the early 2000s after being taken prisoner during the 1950-53 Korean War.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the five plaintiffs, including 95-year-old Ko Kwang-myun, claimed they were forced to work in mines in North Korea even after the 1953 truce that halted the Korean War. They demanded a compensation of 21 million won per person, and the court granted the full amount. This ruling marked the third such decision after similar verdicts in 2020 and 2023. The North and Kim were ordered to pay the same compensation to two former POWs in July 2020 and three others in 2023.

In all cases, the court hearings proceeded without any party representing the defendants. Despite winning the cases, however, it seems difficult for the plaintiffs to actually receive the compensation.

According to the Korean POW Families Association, Ko was captured by Chinese forces and handed over to North Korea while on a search mission in May 1953. Although the armistice agreement was signed about two months later, Ko was not repatriated to South Korea and was forced to perform labor in POW camps and coal mines. He returned to South Korea after defecting from North Korea by crossing the Tumen River in November 2001. Currently, only six former POWs, including the five plaintiffs, remain alive in South Korea.