Automakers, gov't not responsible for asthma patients, court says

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean court on Wednesday ruled in an
unprecedented suit that the Seoul government and seven automakers are not
responsible for respiratory diseases allegedly caused by air pollution.

The ruling came almost three years after a group of 23 asthma patients filed a
suit in February 2007. The patients demanded that the Seoul government and major
automakers take measures to halt emissions of air pollutants exceeding regulatory
standards and that the defendants pay 30 million won (US$26,000) in reparations
to each patient.
The defendants in the suit are the Seoul Metropolitan Government and seven
automakers, including Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corps. and GM Daewoo Auto &
Technology Co.
Though the plaintiffs claimed that the government's lack of antipollution
measures and automakers' negligence were to blame for their illness, the court
ruled that there was no direct causal relationship between gas exhaust and
asthma.
"While the plaintiffs submitted strong evidence for the case, the defendants also
provided considerable evidence against the plaintiffs' claim," the court said.
"As the court doesn't have expert knowledge in the scientific area, it made a
legal judgment based on the evidence provided and the law."
The automakers argued that there is no direct relationship between the patients'
disease and air pollution. It also said other pollutants, such as "yellow dust"
coming from China, should be considered as one of the factors causing the
respiratory disease.
In a similar case in 2007, a Japanese court ordered seven automakers to pay 1.2
billion yen (US$13.2 million) to hundreds of asthma patients to settle a
decade-long court battle over air pollution caused by emissions from
diesel-powered motor vehicles in Tokyo.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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