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Five former POWs from Korean War sue North Korea over forced labor

Published: 29 Apr. 2026, 21:07

In this file photo, Kim Seong-tae, a former South Korean prisoner of war, speaks to reporters at the Seoul Central District Court on May 8, 2023, after winning a damages lawsuit against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un. [YONHAP]

Five former South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) have filed a compensation lawsuit against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un in a Seoul court, seeking damages for forced labor.

According to the Korean POW Families Association on Wednesday, the five war survivors — Ko Kwang-myun, aged 95; Kim Jong-su, aged 95; Lee Sun-woo, aged 96; Lee Dae-bong, aged 95; and Choi Ki-ho, aged 98 — have recently filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court, each demanding 21 million won ($14,200) in compensation.

The plaintiffs claimed they were forced to work in mines in North Korea even after the 1953 truce that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, before defecting to the South in the early 2000s.

The case marked the third of its kind following two similar lawsuits filed in 2020 and 2023 by two and three former POWs, respectively.

Currently, only six former POWs, including the five plaintiffs, remain alive in South Korea. In February, they issued a joint statement calling for the establishment of a truth commission on South Korean POWs and the designation of an official remembrance day, marking the 12th anniversary of the publication of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report on human rights in North Korea.

Yonhap