Court Orders Sex Offender to Reimburse State for Victim Compensation After Teen's Death

The South Korean government has won a damages lawsuit against a sex offender, successfully seeking reimbursement for the compensation it paid to the parents of a teenager who took her own life after being sexually assaulted while seeking a part-time job.

The Busan District Court, presided over by Judge Lee Young-gap of the 11th Civil Division, announced today that it ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Republic of Korea, ordering the defendant, identified as A, to pay 37.69 million won plus delayed interest.

The ruling marks a victory for the state, which had paid survivor compensation to the victim's family and subsequently filed a subrogation lawsuit to recover the funds from the perpetrator.

According to the court ruling, A contacted the victim in March 2023 after seeing her resume on the online job portal Alba Cheonguk, telling her to come for a job interview.

The victim met with A on April 1, 2023, and on April 10 of the same year, A sexually assaulted her.

After contracting a sexually transmitted disease from the assault, the victim suffered from severe distress and took her own life in May 2023.

It was revealed that A had committed sexual crimes against several other victims as well. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in the first trial and five years in the appellate trial, with the sentence eventually finalized by the Supreme Court.

The victim's parents applied for survivor compensation under the Crime Victim Protection Act, but the Busan District Prosecutors Office's Crime Victim Compensation Review Committee initially rejected the application.

Following an appeal by the parents, the Ministry of Justice's Crime Victim Compensation Review Committee approved a payment of 37,696,320 won, while deciding to exercise the right of subrogation to recover the full amount.

Consequently, the state paid the compensation to the parents in October 2024 and subsequently filed the lawsuit against A.

During the trial, A argued that there was no causal link between his crime and the victim's death, but the court rejected this claim.

The court stated, "The victim contracted a sexually transmitted disease due to the defendant's sexual assault and was deeply distressed by it," adding, "A causal relationship between the defendant's crime and the victim's death is recognized."

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Seo Byeong-uk | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.