It has been revealed that North Korea demolished a fire station, a South Korean government facility, within the Geumgangsan tourist district. The government’s position is that it will take necessary legal action against North Korea, such as a lawsuit for damages, but there is no adequate response other than to resolve the matter through consultation between the two sides.
On the 10th, Koo Byeong-sam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said in a statement during a regular briefing: “The government confirmed that the fire station, a Korean government facility in Geumgang Mountain District, has been demolished by North North Korea.” He added: “North Korea unilaterally destroyed the fire station installed by our government in Mount Kumgang District. “We express strong regret over the demolition,” he said.
Spokesman Koo said: “We strictly urge North Korea to immediately stop demolishing our facilities” and added: “North Korea’s unilateral demolition actions cannot be justified in any way.”
He added: “The North Korean authorities must take full responsibility for this incident, including the violation of our government’s property rights,” and added: “The government will review legal measures in this regard.”
Asked whether legal action meant a lawsuit seeking compensation, a district spokesperson responded, “We’re looking at it that way.”
Last year, the government filed a damages lawsuit in a South Korean court over North Korea’s bombing of the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong in 2020. Asked whether revisiting the lawsuit this time would make it the second lawsuit against North Korea, Spokesman Koo said: “It is difficult to confirm the exact method now,” he said.
He said: “I will tell you that the government will clearly hold North Korea accountable for actions that violate the property rights of the government and companies, even if it takes time.”
While the government has indeed pursued damages lawsuits, it has previously been pointed out that even if it wins the case, it will be ineffective because there is no way to enforce it.
When a lawsuit was filed for damages related to the attack on the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office on June 14 last year, a Ministry of Unification official who met with reporters said: “There is a lawsuit currently pending against the Inter-Korean Foundation for Economic and Cultural Cooperation (hereinafter Gyeongmunhyup): “We intend to review the results of these collection lawsuits together,” he said, mentioning the possibility of enforcement.
This can be interpreted as an intention to test whether the copyright taxes that Gyeongmunhyup has to pay to North Korea might be applicable if he wins the trial, but this is not an easy situation due to legal identity issues and the nature of the taxes on the copyright of Kyungmoonhyup.
Since remittances to North Korea were blocked in 2008, Kyungmoonhyup has deposited about 1.8 billion won in royalties owed to North Korea in court. Regarding the enforcement of this amount, the Court is said to have taken the position that since copyrights are “private property”, it is difficult to pay them as “compensation”, which is a national responsibility.
In fact, the plaintiff recently lost a related lawsuit. On February 14, the 2-3 Civil Appellate Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Deok-sik, Jo Gyu-seol and Shin Shin-ho) rejected the request filed by two people, including the deceased Han Jae-bok, South Korean prisoner of war, against Gyeongmoonhyup seeking damages. Even in the first trial the application was rejected.
They filed a collection suit in order to use the copyright fees owed by Kyungmunhyup to North Korea as compensation owed to them by North Korea, but the suit was dismissed. In the first trial, the court cited the fact that North Korea was not “the entity holding the seized credits” as a reason to reject their request.
In other words, the explanation was that North Korea is not an independent country under the South Korean Constitution and that there is insufficient evidence to recognize it as another type, such as an “unincorporated association” which can be an entity legal.
The court also cited the fact that the North-South Copyright Center and the Copyright Office of North Korea under Gyeongmunhyup are a kind of “transaction intermediary” and that Gyeongmoonhyup is not in the position of a “third-party debtor” for pay damages as a reason for dismissal.
Meanwhile, regarding the fire station demolished by North Korea, a spokesperson for the district said that it is located opposite Jopo village, Onjeong-ri, in the Geumgangsan special zone, and that it is a building with a surface area of 4,900 m2. , a building area of 510 m2, and a total covered area of 890 m2, with a basement and two floors above ground.
When asked when the demolition would take place, a borough spokesperson said: “We were aware of demolition trends and full demolition was confirmed at the end of April. He added: “We understand that many other tourism-related facilities, including the Haegeumgang Hotel, was demolished. “There is,” he replied.
When asked if there were any other government-owned buildings demolished besides the fire station, a district spokesperson said, “The only government-owned structures in the district are the separate family meeting center and the fire station building. firefighters He”. he added: “It has been confirmed that the fire station building has been demolished for the first time and so far there are no separate family buildings.” “We understand that there are no particular trends regarding visitation centers,” he said.
▲ Panoramic view of Mount Geumgang tourist district ⓒ Yonhap News
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