Seoul Court Orders North Korea to Pay $32.5 Million for 2020 Liaison Office Demolition

A court in Seoul has ordered North Korea to pay approximately $32.5 million (44.6 billion won) in damages for the destruction of an inter-Korean liaison office in 2020. According to a spokeswoman for the Seoul Central District Court, the ruling represents the first time the South Korean government has formally sought compensation directly from the North Korean state.

The demolition occurred in June 2020 at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a site where South Korean firms had previously employed North Korean laborers. Pyongyang carried out the explosion after days of escalating tensions triggered by South Korean activists sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. North Korean officials denounced the facility as “useless” prior to its destruction.

The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023 during the administration of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol, originated from a landmark agreement reached in September 2018. The liaison office opened just days before former President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim Jong Un, an era that saw inter-Korean relations reach a peak with three summits held that year.

Operations at the office were suspended in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 20 officials from each side initially stationed there. Ties subsequently deteriorated following the collapse of talks between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February 2019.

While the South Korean government stated it would review necessary follow-up measures, experts remain skeptical that Pyongyang will ever honor the financial judgment, given the location of the demolished building within North Korean territory.