By Kim Da-ye



The Supreme Court upheld Thursday a high court ruling in favor of tobacco manufacturer KT&G against family members of smokers who died from "non-specific cancers."



The top court said the link between the "non-specific cancers," of which two of the smokers died, and smoking was difficult to prove.



It added that evidence showed neither defects in the cigarettes produced by KT&G nor any attempt to cover up information on health risks from tobacco.



"Although a mechanical cause-and-effect relationship between smoking and lung cancer can be acknowledged, it is difficult to recognize one in these cases," said a court official.



The decision, which came 15 years after the two lawsuits were filed at the Seoul Central District Court in 1999, is the first verdict of the highest court on litigation seeking compensation against a tobacco company.



In 1999, 32 complainants ― three living cancer patients, their family members and families of four dead ― filed two lawsuits against the government and the now-privatized KT&G.



Only one smoker, identified as Bang, 64, has survived.



The complainants argued that the cigarettes manufactured and sold by KT&G have defects because they contain nicotine, an addictive substance, and carcinogens.



They claimed that KT&G's advertising campaign encouraged people to smoke, while hiding negative information about tobacco gained from its own research or through overseas institutes, according to court documents from lower and high courts.



They also complained that the company used additives to improve the flavor and aroma of cigarettes and did not warn consumers adequately on the health hazards.



They sued the KT&G because it had a monopoly on producing cigarettes in Korea until 2001 and the complaints were diagnosed before that.



The Seoul High Court found in 2011 that four of the smokers had certain types of cancer, which had likely been caused by smoking.



For the four to win the lawsuit, they had to prove that KT&G's cigarettes had defects and that the firm acted illegally, including concealing information about tobacco.



Both the high court and the Supreme Court ruled that there was no evidence proving wrongdoing by KT&G.



Observers now question how the ruling will affect another lawsuit which the state-run National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) plans to file April 14 against tobacco companies.



The NHIS said in January that smokers cost the service an extra 1.7 trillion won ($1.64 billion), and tobacco companies should be held responsible for this.



An NHIS official told The Korea Times that the ruling will not affect its decision to file a lawsuit. It will complete recruiting lawyers for the litigation by Friday, he said.



"Individuals find it extremely difficult to win against tobacco companies. Between 1953 and 1994, individuals filed some 800 lawsuits against tobacco manufacturers in the U.S., but all lost.



"When a state government took action, it won. The NHIS has organizational power and networks, and will use the big data we have. We are confident we can prove the cause-and-effect relationship between smoking and cancer," the official said.



The Korea Tobacco Association, a lobby of Korean and multinational tobacco firms, said in a statement that the NHIS is unlikely to win the lawsuit because the argument it has to legally prove is the same as that in individually-filed suits.



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