South Korean firm asks Kyaukphyu farmers to pay legal costs for land confiscation lawsuit

By Admin 01 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
1 July 2023, Sittwe

POSCO International Co has asked local farmers in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township to pay legal costs for the company in a lawsuit brought against it regarding confiscation of farmland in the Shwe natural gas project area.

The company has sent a notice, asking farmers to pay 27,149,500 South Korean won (43.6 million kyats) in legal costs.

Over 90 acres of farms were owned by 110 farmers in Gonechun, Ohntaw and Mala Island villages in 2010 to make way for the Shwe natural gas project. Farmers received a compensation of 2.5 million kyats per acre.

Twenty farmers with legal assistance from the Igong Law Firm of South Korea filed a lawsuit against the company in a court in Seoul in 2016, demanding appropriate compensation.

The court ruled in December of last year that POSCO has nothing to do with land grabbing, but it was the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise that confiscated the land, prompting POSCO to seek to recover legal costs.

“As we lost the lawsuit, POSCO has told us to pay for their defence costs. I don’t know what to say,” said farmer U Khin Maung Myint from Gonechun Village.

The notice asking farmers to pay the legal costs arrived at the hands of farmers on June 26. The notice in Burmese, English and Korean languages came from a Seoul court via the Kyaukphyu Township Court.

The farmers have not yet decided how to respond.

“All the farmers who were the complainants in the case have received the notice. We have not yet discussed what to do. All we can say is farmers have suffered a lot in this case,” said Daw Hla Win Khin from Gonechun Village.

Kyaukphyu resident U Tun Lwin, who helped the local farmers by filing a lawsuit with the help of the Igong Law Firm, said: “As far as I know, the South Korean court has notified the farmers that POSCO has asked for legal costs, and that farmers can counter its claim. But, the [Igong Law Firm] has notified me that it would pay the legal costs on behalf of farmers. So, farmers do not need to pay legal costs.”

However, asthe farmers have not yet been able to directly contact the Igong Law Firm, they are concerned about POSCO asking for legal costs.

The farmers can still choose to file a complaint against MOGE for compensation, but given the nature of land confiscation and current instability in Myanmar, that route would not likely yield results.