Court rejects first S. Korea lawsuit against tobacco firm

SEOUL - An appeals court on Tuesday rejected South Korea's first lawsuit against a tobacco company following a 12-year legal battle by lung cancer sufferers and their families.

Seen as a test case, Seoul High Court - partially upholding a lower court ruling - found there was no direct evidence that the victims' cases were caused directly by cigarettes produced by KT&G.

The case began in 1999 when 36 people - cancer sufferers or relatives - sued KT&G, the country's largest tobacco firm. Five of the plaintiffs have since died. KT&G, a former state monopoly, was privatized in 2002 and controls more than half the domestic cigarette market.