South Korea court dismisses wartime labour lawsuit against Japanese firms

Last updated on July 8th, 2022 at 11:36 am

The Court of South Korea dismissed a lawsuit filed by 85 victims of wartime forced labour seeking e compensation from 16 Japanese firms. The firm declined to say accepting the case might violate a 1965 treaty under international law. The Seoul Central District Court in Japan said they are also dismissing the suit as it that demands Japanese companies pay each plaintiff about $90,000 for forced labour and withheld compensation during World War II. They target 16 highly influential companies, including Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp., Nissan Chemical Corp., and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. This decision has brought a lot of anger and frustration to the victims in South Korea as they demand its actions during its 1910-45 rule of Korea closed.

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It is not only about monetary funds but another feud that has been surfacing this is about Japan’s euphemism for Korean women as they were forced to work in its wartime brothels. However, the Seoul court comes clean by saying that the 1965 pact covered victims’ right to damages and South Korea was bound by it. Justice Kim Yang-ho mentioned, that going further with this case will only result in breaching international law and will trigger adverse effects globally.

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A lawyer who is also a supporter of the victims of wartime comes forward and asserts that their rights exist and their case is eligible for a trial. Although, judges appear to have ruled differently because it’s a sensitive issue between the two countries.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said the government respected both court rulings and victims’ rights and would pursue efforts “with an open mind” to come up with a reasonable solution acceptable to all sides involved. Japan rejected the 2018 Supreme Court decision, which ordered Nippon Steel to compensate four Korean plaintiffs, saying the issue of wartime compensation was resolved by the 1965 deal.