The court acknowledged the state should be held accountable for his suffering. 

"As a result, Park had to return to the salt field, from which we can assume he must have felt very confused and extremely frustrated," the court said.

The court added that the payout is thus for his psychological trauma long suffered from a decade of forced labor with no fair treatment.

But the court denied state responsibility for seven other co-defendants who lodged the same suit together with Park against the government in 2015, citing a lack of evidence.

Revelations about a group of mentally disabled people who were treated as slaves to toil at salt farms with little pay sent shock waves through the country and stirred up huge public uproar. A series of similar incidents have since been exposed by the media or reports from victims. (Yonhap)