The court will file a civil lawsuit against those involved in the disturbance at the Seoul Western District Court. It is considered rare for the judiciary to directly sue private individuals to seek recovery of damages.
On the 28th, according to legal sources, the Seoul Western District Court said in a recently published "Jan. 19 riot white paper" that it would pursue damage claims against the perpetrators.
The Western District Court said it plans to proceed with legal procedures after comprehensively reviewing the results of the perpetrators' criminal trials and whether the insurer pays insurance benefits. A court official said that filing a civil lawsuit means the court views the situation as that serious.
The disturbance broke out on Jan. 19 after former President Yoon Suk-yeol was taken into custody. The court wrote in the white paper that enraged supporters stormed the Western District Court, smashed the building and fixtures, and assaulted police, among other turmoil.
The Western District Court defined the incident as "a grave case that directly threatened the independence of the judiciary and shook the foundations of the rule of law and democracy."
As of the 1st of this month, 141 defendants have been indicted on charges of participating in the disturbance. The Western District Court said the number could rise depending on the remaining investigation results.
Property damage was tallied at 622 million won. Damage to facilities such as exterior wall tiles, a screen door, and the back-gate sign amounted to 478 million won, and damage to items such as monitors and closed-circuit CCTV was estimated at about 144 million won.
None of the 25 employees who were at the court at the time suffered injuries, but 51 people who experienced the incident directly or indirectly reported psychological harm and received counseling, it was found. Some observers say that considering disruptions to operations, such as trial delays, the damages sought could exceed the simple property losses.
The Western District Court also raised the need for institutional improvements to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. In the white paper, it proposed introducing a conditional arrest-warrant system, noting that the current system results in either detention or dismissal, which could lead to intense backlash.
The Western District Court said it is at the stage of reviewing the introduction of a system that allows suspects to be investigated and tried without detention if they fulfill certain conditions, such as a residence restriction or electronic monitoring.