Court: "Mitsubishi, Submit Opinion if There Is Forced Asset Sale" Effect of Public Notice Delivery Enforced

University Progressive Solidarity members are holding a press conference condemning the Japanese government for its lack of reflection on wartime history in front of the Mitsubishi Seoul headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Cho and Donghoon Jung] The effect of the public notice delivery procedure conducted by the court for the forced sale of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' domestic assets, which has consistently remained unresponsive despite the Supreme Court ruling to pay compensation to Korean forced labor victims, took effect on the 10th. Public notice delivery is a system where the court publicly posts documents and, after a certain period, considers the documents delivered to the parties involved in the lawsuit. This public notice delivery is part of the hearing procedure to hear Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' opinion on the forced sale order, and does not mean that the cash conversion process will start immediately.

According to the legal community on the 10th, the Daejeon District Court publicly delivered some lawsuit documents to process the application for the sale order of seized assets filed by forced labor victims including grandmother Yang Geum-deok (91) and five bereaved families against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Among these, the public notice delivery of the hearing documents related to the sale order application took effect from midnight on the same day. It is known that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has not yet sent any particular response.

This public notice delivery is a preliminary procedure to forcibly sell assets against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is not complying with the Supreme Court's compensation ruling for forced labor victims. According to the Supreme Court ruling, to pay compensation to the victims, the following procedures are necessary: ▲ seizure of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' domestic assets ▲ sale of the assets ▲ payment of the proceeds to the victims. The Daejeon District Court had already issued a seizure order last March on two trademarks and six patents held by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Korea.

For the court to issue a sale order in the future, a hearing procedure to hear the defendant's opinion is required. However, as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries continues to ignore this, the court intends to consider the procedure completed through public notice delivery. The legal community explains that the effect of the public notice delivery of the hearing documents does not immediately allow a cash conversion order. Usually, delivery of the seizure order decision document is also required.

Separately from the public notice delivery of the hearing documents, the Daejeon District Court also conducted public notice delivery of the seizure order document. The effect of the public notice delivery of the seizure order document will take effect at 0:00 on the 30th of next month. Once effective, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will no longer be able to freely dispose of the domestic assets subject to the seizure order. Even if they sell the assets, it will be considered 'invalid.' The seized assets will be converted into cash and paid to the forced labor victims.

Previously, five forced labor victims and their bereaved families filed a damages lawsuit against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at the Gwangju District Court in October 2012 and received a final Supreme Court ruling in November 2018 ordering the defendant to pay 100 million to 150 million KRW in consolation damages per person. Subsequently, the victims, through the Daejeon District Court on March 22 last year, took steps to seize two trademarks and six patents in Korea owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which delayed the execution of the ruling, and then applied for a sale order. The claim amount is 804 million KRW for four victims excluding one deceased plaintiff.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.