SEOUL: When he was a 20-week-old embryo — before he even had a real name — Choi Hee-woo became one of the world’s youngest-ever plaintiffs by joining a groundbreaking climate lawsuit against South Korea. His case, known as “Woodpecker et al v South Korea” after Choi’s in utero nickname, seeks to prove Seoul’s modest climate goals — reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent of 2018 levels by 2030 — are a violation of their constitutionally guaranteed human rights. In Asia’s first such climate case — a similar youth-led effort recently succeeded in the US state of Montana, another is ongoing at the European Higher Court — the plaintiffs claim South Korea’s legally binding climate commitments are insufficient and unmet.
“I had no idea an embryo could participate,” Choi’s mother, Lee Dong-hyun, told AFP, adding that she’d been planning to sign up Choi’s older sibling before realizing her unborn child could also become a plaintiff. Choi or “Woodpecker” — his parents heard the bird’s call after learning they were pregnant, Lee said — is the youngest of the 62 children involved, although most were under five when the suit was first filed in 2022. Lee is confident the court will rule with the children — which could force revisions to Seoul’s climate laws, although the scale of any potential changes is not clear.
“Considering the future of humanity, it’s obvious the government should make more active efforts to ensure our survival am.
