Pohang earthquake: state liability recognized...first ruling by South Korean court

A South Korean court has issued its first ruling regarding the November 2017 earthquake in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. The government and POSCO Holdings, etc. will be asked to pay a per capita amount to the affected citizens.
He was ordered to pay 2 million to 3 million won (approximately 230,000 to 350,000 yen) in compensation. The admission of a causal relationship between the geothermal power generation project and the earthquake is expected to result in a large-scale lawsuit for damages.
On the 16th, the Pohang Support Civil Division 1 of the Daegu District Court ruled in favor of some of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit for damages brought by Pohang citizens. Magnitude 5.4 on November 15, 2017
Citizens who experienced both the earthquake and the magnitude 4.6 aftershock on February 11, 2018 were ordered to receive 3 million won, and those who experienced only one of them were ordered to receive 2 million won.
The court stated, ``Although we disputed the causal relationship between the geothermal power generation project and the earthquake, we determined that the earthquake was caused by geothermal heat and recognized the government's liability for compensation.However, we took into account the efforts the government made to recover from the damage.'' judgment
The reason for the decision was explained. This civil lawsuit is based on the "Special Law for Investigation of the Truth about the Pohang Earthquake and Relief for Damage" (Pohang Earthquake Special Law).
It was done separately. In October 2018, the Pohang Earthquake Pan-Citizen Countermeasures Headquarters (Pandaehon) formed a lawsuit group of approximately 1,200 people and filed a lawsuit against the government, POSCO Holdings, and others, claiming ``10 million U.S. dollars per person.''
Please pay Von's compensation,'' he filed a lawsuit for damages. Approximately 50,000 people reportedly participated in the lawsuit. As a result of this ruling, the amount of compensation that the government and other parties must pay reaches 150 billion won. Furthermore, stamp paper
Since the system allows citizens to participate in lawsuits by paying compensation, there is a possibility that many citizens will continue to seek compensation. If all Pohang citizens participate in the lawsuit, the amount of compensation that should be paid would be 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars.
It is expected that the scale of the The statute of limitations for extinguishing the right to claim compensation under the Pohang Earthquake Damage Relief Special Law, which went into effect in April 2021, runs until March 20 next year. Mo Sung-woong, co-representative of Pandaebook
said at a press conference immediately after the ruling, ``The statute of limitations is about to expire. We want to make sure that other citizens can participate in the lawsuit.''