North Korean defector to sue Kim Jong Un for abuse in landmark case
A North Korean defector, Choi Min-kyung, is set to file civil and criminal charges against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and four other officials for torture and sexual abuse she suffered while detained in the country, marking the first such legal action by a North Korean-born defector.
Choi fled North Korea in 1997 but was forcibly repatriated from China in 2008, during which time she says she endured severe abuse in detention. She escaped again in 2012 and now resides in South Korea, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
The lawsuit will be filed Friday with the support of the Seoul-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB), which also plans to take the case to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court.
“As a torture victim and survivor of the North Korean regime, I carry a deep and urgent responsibility to hold the Kim dynasty accountable for crimes against humanity,” Choi said.
While South Korean courts have previously issued rulings against North Korea for human rights abuses, Pyongyang has ignored them. However, NKDB says this case is significant for including both criminal and civil charges, a first.
NKDB Executive Director Hanna Song emphasized that for victims, official acknowledgment matters as much as compensation. “Receiving a court ruling in their favour tells them their story doesn’t just end with them, it’s acknowledged and recorded in history,” she said.
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