Japanese Company Required to Compensate Koreans for Forced Labor During WWII

Groundbreaking ceremony for the Seoul-Busan railway while under Japanese rule.

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled on October 30 that Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp must compensate four South Koreans forced into labor during World War II, setting a possible precedent for similar lawsuits and roiling relations between Japan and South Korea. The Japanese steelmaker was ordered to compensate each of the four workers with 100 million won ($87,680); however, only one plaintiff, 94-year-old Lee Chun-sik, has survived the 14-year legal battle.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono issued a statement in response to the ruling: “Today’s ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court has one-sidedly and fundamentally damaged the legal foundation of Japan-South Korea relations.” He also indicated that Japan was prepared to appeal the case to the International Court of Justice.

Central to the case is a bilateral treaty between Japan and South Korea signed in 1965, acknowledging that all compensation claims from the war have been settled “completely and finally.” The South Korean Supreme Court argued that the treaty did not apply to “claims for consolation money” for “inhuman, illegal acts by a Japanese firm that was directly linked to the illegal colonial rule.” The ruling may provide a sweeping new precedent that will allow for 14 similar lawsuits to move forward.

Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, as well as the recognition and compensation for the atrocities committed during this period, have long been major issues in the relations between Japan and South Korea. In 2015, decades after the end of World War II, South Korea and Japan reached an agreement to resolve the dispute over comfort women — women, primarily from South Korea and China, forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military.

These rising tensions between Japan and South Korea come amidst a need for unity, including with the United States, to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and the rise of Chinese dominance.

Lee Chun-sik, however, is unconcerned with the complex geopolitics of this lawsuit.

“The other victims who filed the lawsuit have died but being the only survivor I can’t give up,” he said. “I went to Japan as worker at a young age and went through much suffering, and I would like to see this issue finalized within my lifetime.”