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2h ago

Seoul Appeals Court Rejects NHIS Damages Suit Against Tobacco Companies

The judges found the insurer failed to prove individual causal links required under Korean law.

President of the NHIS Jung Ki-suck likened tobacco companies to "hit-and-run offenders"
A convenience store worker picks out a cigarette pack at a store in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)
People smoke e-cigarettes near a road in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

Overview

  • The Seoul High Court upheld a 2020 district ruling and dismissed the 53.3 billion won claim against KT&G, Philip Morris Korea and British American Tobacco Korea.
  • The lawsuit sought reimbursement for treatment of 3,465 long-term smokers with specific cancers, and about 90% of those patients have died.
  • The court said NHIS payments were made under statutory insurance duties and that population-level data do not establish case-specific causation.
  • NHIS President Jung Ki-suck said the agency will prepare a Supreme Court appeal and described the verdict as disappointing.
  • NHIS has pointed to new analyses, including a reported finding that smoking accounted for 81.8% of lung-cancer risk factors in a subset of patients, but this evidence has not satisfied the court’s standard.