Major Trade Unions: "Dismissal of Forced Labor Compensation Lawsuit is Anti-Historical... Following Japanese Far-Right Logic"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] After the court dismissed the damage compensation lawsuit filed by forced labor victims against Japanese companies, the two major labor unions and the Forced Mobilization Joint Action condemned the ruling panel that made this decision.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU), and the Forced Mobilization Joint Action held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court on the 10th, stating, "The Civil Division 34 (Chief Judge Kim Yang-ho) thoroughly ignored the restoration of victims' human rights and delivered a historically and constitutionally regressive ruling."

They added, "The court disparaged the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that recognized the illegality of the Japanese government's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula and the victims' right to claim damages for forced mobilization," and said, "Ignoring the victims' suffering, the court merely followed the logic of Japanese far-right forces, abandoning the judiciary's mission."

They also stated, "Judges must uphold the spirit of the Constitution and deliver fair and just rulings solely based on law and conscience, but this panel ruled based on distorted and regressive historical perceptions of individual judges, infringing upon and insulting the rights of the victims."

The Civil Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed on the 7th the damage compensation lawsuit filed by over 80 forced labor victims against 16 Japanese companies. Dismissal means a decision made without examining the merits when the lawsuit does not meet procedural requirements. Although it differs legally from a ruling that rejects the plaintiff's claim, in that the claim is not accepted, it is effectively the same.

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