A North Korean defector is set to file civil and criminal lawsuits against the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, alleging sexual abuse and torture during her detention in North Korea.
Choi Min-kyung fled North Korea for China in 1997 but was forcibly repatriated in 2008. She claims she was sexually abused and tortured upon her return. When she presents her case in Seoul on Friday, it will mark the first time a North Korean-born defector has taken legal action against the regime, according to the North Korean Human Rights Database (NKDB), a South Korea-based human rights group assisting Choi.
Symbolic Action and International Push
While South Korean courts have previously ruled against North Korea in similar claims by South Koreans, such judgments are largely symbolic and often ignored by Pyongyang. This case specifically names Kim Jong Un and four other Pyongyang officials.
The NKDB stated that it also plans to escalate Choi’s case to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), aiming for broader international recognition and action.
“I wholeheartedly wish that this small step becomes a cornerstone for the restoration of human freedom and dignity, so that no innocent North Korean suffers under this brutal regime,” Choi said on Wednesday, according to an NKDB statement. “As a torture victim and survivor of the North Korean regime, I bear a deep and urgent responsibility to hold Kim accountable for crimes against humanity.”
Continued Trauma and Documented Abuses
Choi managed to escape North Korea again in 2012 and has since settled in South Korea. She shared that the psychological trauma from her experience persists, and she continues to rely on medication.
For years, international human rights groups have documented alleged human rights violations by North Korea, ranging from the abuse of political prisoners to systematic discrimination based on gender and class.
Hanna Song, NKDB’s executive director, told BBC Korean that these lawsuits are significant because they are pursuing criminal charges “in parallel” with civil cases. Previous legal challenges against North Korea have been “limited to civil lawsuits,” she added. In 2023, a Seoul court ordered North Korea to pay $36,000 each to three South Korean men who were exploited after being taken as prisoners of war in North Korea during the Korean War.
