[Intl-tobacco] Korea: Court Inspects KT Documents

[robert.weissman@essentialinformation.org]

Court Inspects KT Documents
Korea Times

1st Action to Decide Whether to Unveil Researches on Smoking
April 19, 2004

By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter

Lawsuits filed against KT, the state-run tobacco company, are gaining
ground after a local court decided to review company documents on smoking
research which they have refused to release to the public.  The Seoul
District Court on Monday conducted an on-sight inspection of company
documents being kept in KT's research center in Taejon for an hour from 9
a.m.  The court's move was a response to a request by plaintiffs who
demanded KT to disclose company documents on tobacco research the firm
have refused to release.

Former smokers and their families filed a collective lawsuit against the
tobacco company in 1999, demanding compensation for cancer and other
diseases they believed were caused by smoking.  Among the 786 documents up
for review, a total of 375 documents are those which KT have refused to
disclose to the plaintiffs, including papers on the correlations between
passive smoking, lung cancer and research on new cigarette products.  If
the court decides to order the company to release the papers, it will mark
the first time that tobacco research-related documents will be disclosed
to the public.

"The on-scene inspections will serve as an important procedure in
influencing the outcome of the tobacco lawsuits,' said Bae Keum-ja, a
lawyer who is defending the plaintiffs.  "The material will prove how much
KT knew about the harmful effects of cigarettes and their relations to
lung cancer and nicotine addiction,' she said.

Two court battles are currently underway against the state-run tobacco
company, with the first one filed by a smoker in September 1999, who later
died from lung cancer. In December of the same year, 31 smokers and family
members lodged a 300 million won compensation suit against KT, claiming it
should take legal responsibility for the alleged damage to their health
caused by smoking.  A total of 13 trials have been held during the last
four years, but with little headway.

Unlike Korea, smokers in the United States have continued to reap
successes in lawsuits against tobacco giants.  In 1998, U.S. cigarette
makers lost a $206 billion lawsuit filed by 46 states, which needed funds
to treat patients suffering from smoking-related illnesses on medical aid.
In 1999, Phillip Morris was ordered by a San Francisco court to pay
smokers $51.5 million for damages caused by smoking.