As the Supreme Court of Korea on Nov. 29 orders Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. to pay damages to Korean forced labor victims, the victims and their families shout for joy in front of the court building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap News)
By Kim Hyelin and Hahm Hee-eun
The Supreme Court of Korea has ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay compensatory damages to Koreans who were forced to perform labor for the Japanese company during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Similar court rulings have also been confirmed in favor of the Korean victims.
The Supreme Court’s ruling announced on Nov. 29 ordered Mitsubishi to pay KRW 100 million to 150 million each to Yang Geum-duk, four fellow victims and the relative of a victim. The six plaintiffs had sued the company for being forced to work without pay at a Mitsubishi aircraft plant as members of the Korean Women’s Volunteer Labor Corps.
On the same day, the court also ordered Mitsubishi to pay KRW 80 million each to six victims including Jeong Chang-hee, who was forced to work at the company’s munitions and shipbuilding plant in Hiroshima.
The ruling said, “Mitsubishi’s use of forced labor was an illegal act and the company actively took part in the Japanese government’s colonization and invasion of the Korean Peninsula.”
The court also said Mitsubishi was liable for damages by saying the victims’ right to compensation remained valid despite the 1965 bilateral treaty that normalized ties between Seoul and Tokyo. Japan insists all claims were settled by the agreement.
kimhyelin211@korea.kr