NEW YORK (JTA) — The Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center helped win $330 million for the family of a South Korean minister believed to have been killed by North Korea’s intelligence service.
The Tel Aviv-based NGO, a nonprofit that seeks justice for victims of terrorist regimes, represented the Rev. Kim Dong-Shik against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the case, which started in 2009.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia awarded Kim’s son and brother $1 million each for every one of the 15 years Kim was missing. Some $300 million was awarded in punitive damages. Kim’s family was represented by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the founder of Shurat HaDin.
North Korea is not expected to pay the damages awarded last week, but lawyers will seek the confiscation of North Korean assets such as bank accounts and company shares.
In 2000, the then-53-year-old Kim, a Christian missionary who has family in Illinois and was a permanent U.S. resident, was abducted by North Korean intelligence agents in northeastern China for helping North Koreans escape their oppressive government regime.
The case had stalled for a few years in federal court because Kim was never seen after his abduction and his family could not obtain concrete evidence about his fate.
“The court decision marks the first time that an American court has concluded that a foreign regime which abducts an individual who is then never heard from again has the burden of proving that he has not been murdered,” Shurat HaDin said in a news release on Monday.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
