South Korea should compensate hundreds of lepers for castrating them and forcing them to have abortions for decades until the late 1990s, a court ruled Wednesday.
Judge Kim Jong-won of the Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to pay more than 130 lepers up to 40 million won ($36,000) each.
“The government instilled in the plaintiffs a sense of inferiority and despair,” the judge said, calling the case “extremely anti-humanitarian.”
Thirty-nine of the 174 plaintiffs, however, did not qualify for compensation.
This is the third time the courts ruled in favor of lepers. The two previous rulings took place in April 2014 and February this year.
A suit filed by other lepers is currently being heard in Seoul.
South Korea began castrating lepers in 1937 during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
After gaining its independence from Japan in 1945, South Korea restarted the practice in 1948, starting with couples on Sorok Island, North Jeolla Province.
The practice spread to other rehabilitation centers across the country and continued until the 1990s.
Attorney Park Yeong-rip who represented the plaintiffs urged the government not to appeal, saying, “The ruling is a step forward to creating a society that protects lepers who have been ostracized.” (Yonhap)
