SEOUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The family of a South Korean woman on Tuesday became the first litigants to win a wrongful death suit in the country for exposure to asbestos, local media and the family's lawyer said.

The Daegu District Court ordered an unidentified asbestos manufacturer to pay 124.7 million won ($135,000) to the family of the woman who died last year at the age of 46 of what doctors said was cancer due to asbestos exposure during her employment from 1976-1978.

"The labour ministry said there have been an estimated 46 deaths due to asbestos-related diseases in South Korea over the past seven years," said the family's lawyer Lee Ho-chul.

Lee said the company has changed its name many times but was mostly recently known in South Korea as Cheil E&S Corp. It has since left the country and moved to Indonesia.

"More cases like this will be coming up," Lee said, but added they would be tough to win because the exposure took place many years ago and not much evidence documenting exposure remains.

Officials from the labour ministry were not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit or answer questions about asbestos exposure in the country.

The court said in its decision posted on its Web site (http://daegu.scourt.go.kr/) that the company did not take adequate measures to prevent employees from breathing in asbestos or telling them about the risks of exposure. (Reporting by Jessica Kim, writing by Jon Herskovitz, editing by Rosalind Russell)

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