The Supreme Court has filed a lawsuit seeking damages of about 1.1 billion won against five people involved in the riot at the Seoul Western District Court that occurred in Jan. last year.
On the 26th, the Supreme Court said it filed a damages suit "against five defendants whose convictions were finalized for participating in the (Seoul Western District Court) riot, seeking 1,175,890,000 won in restoration expense due to property damage and delay damages."
The Supreme Court reviewed the degree of participation in the riot and for now filed suit against five people. A Supreme Court official said, "We may later file the same damages suits against other defendants as well."
The plaintiff in this suit is the Republic of Korea, and the agency in charge is the National Court Administration under the Supreme Court. A Supreme Court official explained that "the Litigation Support Center, which supports state litigation related to the courts, conducted a prior legal review and brought the case."
Earlier, the Seoul Western District Court held a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (substantial warrant review) at 2 p.m. on Jan. 18 last year after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) sought an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Presiding Judge Cha Eun-kyung of the Seoul Western District Court accepted the CIO's argument that there was a risk of evidence destruction and issued the arrest warrant at about 3 a.m. the next day.
Supporters of the former president who had been holding a protest around the Western District Court then broke through the police line, climbed over the wall, and entered the court compound. They destroyed windows and doors and forced their way inside, and set off fire extinguishers while rampaging inside the court.
About 100 people were brought to trial on charges of participating in the Western District Court disturbance, and some received finalized prison terms. On Apr. 30, the Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings that sentenced 18 people, including a person surnamed Kim, to prison terms or suspended sentences on charges including special trespass into a building. Some defendants abandoned or withdrew their appeals or petitions, finalizing their sentences at the first- or second-instance stage.
The Supreme Court said, "Because of the riot, numerous facilities at the Seoul Western District Court building—including windows, entrances, exterior walls, office fixtures, and IT equipment—were seriously damaged," adding, "Civil servants there suffered severe psychological shock."
It continued, "This was a grave unlawful act that seriously undermined the function and authority of the court, the ultimate bulwark for protecting the basic rights of the people and the rule of law," and added, "It is essential to hold riot participants strictly accountable under the law for disrupting the constitutional order and directly threatening the independence of the judiciary."
The Supreme Court said, "The judiciary will continue to respond firmly to acts that unjustly infringe on the rule of law and the functions of the judiciary and will do its utmost to ensure that the essential function of justice, as the last bastion protecting the people's basic rights, is fully maintained."