Seoul court again orders Japanese firm to pay forced labor victims

On Tuesday, a higher appeals court in Seoul once more mandated a Japanese corporation to financially reimburse Korean individuals who were compelled to serve as forced laborers during World War II by Japan. The Seoul Central District Court's appellate division determined that Mitsubishi Materials Corp. must pay a collective sum of 99 million won ($74,500) to five Koreans who were forced to work in Japan during the war, affirming a lower court's decision in part on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Mitsubishi Materials, formerly identified as Mitsubishi Mining, was mandated to pay roughly 27 million won to one plaintiff, whose family name is Heo, and 18 million won each to the remaining four. Since the Supreme Court validated two pivotal compensation decisions in 2018, Korean courts have consistently issued rulings compelling Japanese entities to compensate victims of forced labor and their families.

The Supreme Court stated that the 1965 agreement signed between Korea and Japan to rectify matters arising from Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula did not abrogate individuals' entitlement to seek reparation.