Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk arrives at a court in Seocho District, Seoul, Feb 8. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-suk

The Supreme Court has finalized a ruling ordering the state to pay 10 million won ($7,273) in compensation to former Justice Minister Cho Kuk for illegally collecting information through a state spy agency during previous conservative administrations, judicial officials said Friday.

Cho filed a damages suit seeking 200 million won against the state in 2021, claiming that the National Intelligence Service had conducted illegal surveillance on him and instigated negative public sentiment in 2011 and 2016, when former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye were in office.

A district court ordered the state to pay 50 million won to Cho, combining the two cases into one comprehensive surveillance act, but the appeals court reduced the amount to 10 million won after judging the statute of limitations for the case in 2011 had expired.

The statute of limitations for a damages suit brought against the state expires three years after the day the plaintiff becomes aware of the damage, and five years after the damage occurred.

Both parties appealed the decision to the top court, but the ruling was finalized without an official court hearing, judging there were no errors in the previous rulings. (Yonhap)