[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] Hollywood star Kim Kardashian is set to receive a symbolic €1 in damages from a French court over an armed robbery in Paris 10 years ago.
According to CNN and other foreign media outlets, a Paris court in France ruled on the 15th (local time) that Kim Kardashian should receive €1 in damages over the armed robbery at a Paris hotel in 2016. The amount is the same as what Kardashian's legal team requested. The civil damages ruling came after eight people involved in the robbery were convicted last year.
The incident occurred on October 2, 2016, during Paris Fashion Week (PFW). Kardashian was staying at a hotel in Paris when robbers disguised as police officers broke into her room, threatened and restrained her, and fled with jewelry worth millions of dollars.
The robbers tied Kardashian's hands with cable ties, tape and other materials before taking her jewelry. The stolen items included a diamond ring she was wearing while attending a fashion show. The jewelry was reportedly worth more than $6 million at the time, or about KRW 8.3 billion.
Most of the defendants were elderly, leading the French media to dub them the “grandpa robbers.” At last year's trial, eight people were convicted of armed robbery, kidnapping and participation in a criminal organization. They were credited with time already spent in detention, so they were not sent back to prison after the convictions. They also did not appeal the verdicts.
The €1 Kardashian requested in the case is extremely small compared with the actual value of her losses. However, her legal team placed greater importance on establishing accountability and obtaining judicial recognition of the harm she suffered than on financial compensation itself.
Kardashian and the stylist who was with her at the time issued a joint statement thanking the French judicial authorities. They said the experience had left them with severe psychological trauma and emphasized that the ruling was meaningful not as financial compensation, but as recognition of responsibility and the harm they endured.
The civil damages ruling also awarded compensation to victims other than Kardashian. A former receptionist at the hotel where Kardashian was staying was awarded €109,516, or about KRW 170 million. The employee had sought €550,000 in damages plus interest, saying the robbery had caused psychological trauma. The hotel was ordered to pay €50,000 in damages. The stylist who experienced the incident alongside Kardashian will also receive €1 in damages, like Kardashian.
Jang Jong-ho, Reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
