Cancer Patients Lose Suit against Tobacco Company

A group of lung cancer patients and their families have lost a lawsuit filed seven years ago against the nation’s largest tobacco maker. The court’s ruling is likely to have a big influence on other ongoing tobacco-related lawsuits. The 13th Civil Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (presiding judge: Jo Gyeong-ran) ruled against the five plaintiffs--a lung cancer patient, only known by his last name Kim (a sailor who died in 1999) and his family--for compensation suits filed against KT&G and the country on January 25. The plaintiffs said that they suffered physical and mental damage from lung cancer caused by long-term smoking. The court also ruled against the 31 plaintiffs, including a 65-year-old farmer, who filed similar suits.

Following the ruling, however, they said they would appeal to a higher court, prolonging the tobacco lawsuit, which has been ongoing for seven years and four months.

The court said in its ruling, “We recognize the fact that the lung cancer patients smoked for a long time, and there is a causal relationship between smoking and cancer. However, there is no evidence that cancer is the direct result of smoking KT&G cigarettes.’’

Regarding the plaintiffs’ claim that KT&G covered up the harmful effects of tobacco and did not fully warn consumers of the dangers of smoking, the court ruled in favor of the defendant, saying, “KT&G has included a warning against smoking on tobacco packages since 1976.”

The court did not accept the plaintiffs’ claim of deficiencies in KT&G’s manufacturing, designing, and warning labels, and added that the plaintiffs are responsible for proving the direct correlation between cigarette smoking and cancers.

The plaintiffs have continued the lawsuits for more than seven years – they filed the first case in September 1999, claiming 100 million won in compensation, and the second in December, demanding 300 million won. Lawyer Bae Geum-ja for the plaintiffs said she would appeal, adding, “The court recognized smoking as the major cause of lung cancer development, but it ruled in favor of the tobacco company. We cannot accept its decision.”

Meanwhile, two more smoking-related lawsuits are underway: one by four plaintiffs filed in December 2004, and the other by two filed in May 2005.

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