The relations and legal professionals of late compelled labor sufferer Min Moon-sik communicate to the press outdoors the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, August 12, 2026. /VCG
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday upheld a ruling ordering a Japanese firm to pay 80 million received (about $56,500) to the household of an ROK nationwide compelled into labor by Japan throughout World War II, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The relations of Min Moon-sik, a compelled labor sufferer, filed a damages swimsuit in opposition to Nippon Steel Corp. in April 2019. In February 2022, a decrease court docket dominated in opposition to the plaintiffs, saying their proper to hunt damages had expired beneath the statute of limitations. However, in September 2024, an appeals court docket overturned the decrease court docket’s ruling and ordered the defendant to pay 80 million received in compensation.
The case marked the highest court docket’s newest ruling in favor of households of compelled labor victims since its landmark 2018 ruling that discovered Japanese firms accountable for damages to such victims.
During Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule, giant numbers of Koreans have been forcibly taken to Japan to work as laborers. For years, ROK compelled labor victims and their relations have filed a number of lawsuits looking for compensation from Japan. However, the Japanese authorities and related firms have refused to pay, arguing that the problem of claims was “settled” beneath the 1965 bilateral treaty signed between the ROK and Japan.
In October 2018, the supreme court docket ordered Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million received every to 4 ROK nationals who have been subjected to compelled labor throughout World War II. The court docket discovered that the 1965 bilateral treaty between the ROK and Japan, signed when the 2 nations normalized diplomatic relations, didn’t stop ROK compelled labor victims from exercising their particular person rights to hunt damages.
Source: CGTN