Lawsuit for Forced Labor Damages Against Japanese Company Dismissed Again... Confusion Over Statute of Limitations Calculation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The bereaved families of victims who were subjected to forced labor during the Japanese colonial period have once again lost a lawsuit against a Japanese company.

On the 8th, Judge Park Jin-soo of Civil Division 68 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled against the plaintiffs in a damages claim lawsuit filed by five bereaved family members of the late forced labor victim Min against Nippon Steel (formerly Shin Nippon Steel).

After the trial, the plaintiffs' legal representatives told the press, "It is presumed that the reason for the ruling is that the statute of limitations has expired," and added, "We deeply regret the court's formalistic and mechanical judgment."

In February 1942, Min was forcibly taken to the Kamaishi Steelworks operated by Nippon Steel and worked there for about five months. After Min passed away in 1989, his children and other family members filed a lawsuit in April 2019 against Nippon Steel seeking approximately 100 million won in damages.

Recently, courts have been divided on how to calculate the statute of limitations for the right to claim damages asserted by victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period. This has been the case since four forced labor victims filed a lawsuit against Nippon Steel in 2005, lost in lower courts, won on appeal at the Supreme Court in 2012 with a remand, and finally won the final appeal in 2018.

Lower courts have issued conflicting rulings on whether the statute of limitations should be calculated from the 2012 remand decision or from the 2018 final judgment, causing further confusion.

Under civil law, the right to claim damages expires 10 years after the perpetrator commits the unlawful act or 3 years after the victim becomes aware of the damage and the perpetrator.

Previously, the Civil Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court dismissed two damages claims against Mitsubishi Materials (formerly Mitsubishi Mining) and Nippon Steel last year, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired based on the Supreme Court's May 2012 remand decision.

On the other hand, the Civil Division 2 of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Choi In-gyu) ruled in December 2018 in favor of victims in a damages lawsuit against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, stating that the three-year statute of limitations should be calculated from October 2018, when the Supreme Court's ruling was finalized.

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