'Forced Labor Victims' 85 People File Compensation Lawsuit Against 16 Japanese Companies; First Trial in 6 Years Today

A statue honoring the spirits of forced laborers during the Japanese colonial period is installed in Bupyeong Park, Incheon. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial for the damages claim lawsuit filed by forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial period against 16 Japanese companies is set to take place. It has been six years since the victims filed the lawsuit.

According to the court on the 28th, the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 34 (Presiding Judge Kim Yangho) will hold the first hearing at 11 a.m. on the same day for the damages claim lawsuit filed by 85 forced labor victims, including Mr. Song, against 16 Japanese companies such as Nippon Steel (formerly Shin Nippon Steel) and Nissan Chemical.

The victims filed the lawsuit in 2015, but the Japanese companies consistently responded with 'no action.' Recently, after the court delivered the complaint through public notice (a system where the content is published in the court gazette and considered delivered to the parties involved), the Japanese companies belatedly appointed domestic lawyers as their legal representatives.

This is the first time that forced labor victims have filed a lawsuit against multiple Japanese companies simultaneously. The total amount of damages claimed by the victims is 8.6 billion KRW.

In 2018, the Supreme Court accepted the damages claim filed by four forced labor victims, including the late Mr. Yeo Woon-taek, against Nippon Steel, ordering compensation of 100 million KRW per person.

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