South Korea court dismisses forced labour case against Japanese firms
07/06/2021 10:20
By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, June 7 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Monday
dismissed a lawsuit filed by 85 victims of wartime forced labour
seeking compensation from 16 Japanese firms, saying accepting
the case might violate a 1965 treaty under international law.
The decision by the Seoul Central District Court will
frustrate victims and their supporters in South Korea but it
will avert anger from Japan, which considers the issue of
compensation for its actions during its 1910-45 rule of Korea
closed.
The historic feud, including over "comfort women", Japan's
euphemism for mostly Korean women forced to work in its wartime
brothels, has long soured bilateral ties between the two
important U.S. allies.
A 2018 South Korea Supreme Court ruling that the 1965
treaty, which normalised ties between the neighbours, did not
terminate the former forced labourers' right to seek reparation
individually plunged relations between them into their worst
crisis in decades.
A group of 85 South Koreans and their families sued 16
Japanese companies, including Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp
5401.T , Nissan Chemical Corp 4021.T and Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Ltd 7011.T , in 2015, demanding compensation
totalling 8.6 billion won ($7.73 million).
The Yonhap news agency said it was the largest claim among
nearly two dozen cases involving forced labour victims.
But the Seoul court dismissed the suit, saying the 1965 pact
covered victims' right to damages and South Korea was bound by
it.
"Proceeding with the case could result in breaching
international law ... and trigger adverse effects globally if
its final ruling is forcibly implemented," justice Kim Yang-ho
told the court.
Kang Gil, a lawyer for the victims, said the ruling was
"unjust" as it contradicted the 2018 Supreme Court decision.
Kang said they would appeal.
"If their right exists, it means our case is eligible for a
trial," Kang told reporters after the verdict. "But the 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.
The dispute led to tit-for-tat export curbs and threatened
security cooperation between the neighbours who have both been
threatened for years by North Korea.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin
Editing by Robert Birsel)
((hyonhee.shin@thomsonreuters.com; 822 6936 1474;))