ClassActionBlawg.com

Here is an interesting tidbit about a possible class action reform in South Korea from the Korean newspaper the Chosun Ilbo.  Reportedly, “the Presidential Council on National Competitiveness and the ruling Grand National Party” have agreed to “introduce class action suits as a way to compensate victims of illegal collective actions such as illegal rallies and strikes.”  (“Collective actions” in this context apparently means group activity, not collective legal action).

It is unclear from the article who the possible victims are that would have standing to bring the proposed class action suits, who could be sued, and what types of injuries could be remedied.  The article does go on to quote a presidential official as stating that the device would be intended to “put pressure on civic organizations that have so far led to illegal, violent protests.”

For those of us unfamiliar with South Korean society and culture, the whole idea seems a bit backwards.  A class action device for the purpose of suing the perpetrators of public protests?  However, this pictorial review from the blog Who Sucks? and this article from the Kyoto Journal on the often bizarre world of South Korean protests may shed some light on the problem, if not the justification for this particular solution.