South Korea: Battle continues between national health insurance fund and cigarette manufacturers

The South Korean National Health Insurance Fund has just lost the lawsuit it filed in 2014 against three cigarette manufacturers: KT&G (Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation), Phillip Morris and BAT (British American Tobacco). Until today, the justice system in this country has never recognized the responsibility of cigarette manufacturers in the pathologies of smokers.

A request for compensation for care

The National Health Insurance Fund demanded 53 million won – about 40 million euros – to compensate for the additional cost of care it had to pay between 2003 and 2013 for long-time smokers with lung cancer.

A call to come

The Seoul Central District Court, for its part, considered the link between smoking and lung cancer insufficient. However, smoking is the primary risk factor for lung cancer: the risk is multiplied by 10 to 15 for a smoker[1].

The court also ruled that the issues of additional costs were a matter for the national fund and its policyholders, not the cigarette manufacturers. The plaintiff, however, has announced his intention to appeal the verdict.

Smoking in South Korea

According to a report published in late 2019 by the National Institute of Statistics (Kostat), despite overall smoking in the country on the decline and low consumption among women over 15 years old (3.5 %), the smoking rate among men over 15 years old in South Korea is one of the highest in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). It is indeed 31.6 %.