Supreme Court's Decision on 'Mitsubishi Asset Sale' Expected This Week... A Turning Point in Korea-Japan Relations

On the 29th, members of the University Student Progressive Alliance held a press conference condemning the Japanese government for its lack of reflection on war crimes history in front of the Mitsubishi Seoul headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Attention is focused on whether the Supreme Court will make a decision this week regarding the sale of domestic assets of the Japanese war criminal company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) did not make any decision on the 19th regarding the case in which Mitsubishi appealed against the special monetization (sale) order of patent rights.

That day marked four months since the Supreme Court received the appeal records. Previously, the Supreme Court accepted the lawsuit records on April 19. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is Kim Seong-joo, a grandmother who was a victim of forced labor.

If the Supreme Court had intended to issue a "dismissal without trial" decision, it should have done so on that day. This is a decision to dismiss the lawsuit without trial. According to the Special Act on Appeal Procedures, the Supreme Court must issue a dismissal decision within four months from the date it receives the appeal records, and unless there are special circumstances, it rules without trial. The legal community had anticipated that the Supreme Court might dismiss Mitsubishi's appeal with a dismissal without trial decision. However, the Supreme Court did not dismiss this case without trial.

Accordingly, it has become likely that the Supreme Court will hold a trial and then promptly issue a formal decision. If a formal decision is made after trial, the court's specific reasoning will also be stated. The reasoning is expected to cause a significant stir in the political sphere. This case involves the forced execution nature of selling the Japanese company's assets in Korea because they refused to pay damages, so it has significant diplomatic repercussions between Korea and Japan and is receiving much attention in political circles.

The decision may come out this week. Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung is scheduled to retire on the 4th of next month, so a conclusion must be reached before then. This week is the last week before Justice Kim's retirement.

Even after the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling against Mitsubishi in November 2018 in the lawsuit filed by victims of Japanese forced labor, Mitsubishi did not pay compensation to the victims. Accordingly, in 2019, the court decided on a compulsory procedure to seize two trademarks and six patents held by Mitsubishi in Korea, and Mitsubishi appealed the seizure order last year, but the dismissal decision was finalized.

Accordingly, the Daejeon District Court decided in September last year to sell patents and trademarks worth about 500 million won to be paid to grandmothers Kim Seong-joo and Yang Geum-deok. However, Mitsubishi again appealed against the sale order, and the case was returned to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court received a written request from Mitsubishi to suspend the sale order, and also received an opinion from our Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for consideration as diplomatic efforts are being made. In Japan, reports pressuring our government and the Supreme Court have appeared. On the 20th, Japan's Sankei Shimbun reported, "The Japanese government did not respond to our government's request to lift export regulations," adding, "This is separate from the forced labor lawsuit issue." Then on the 21st, it reported, "Although President Yoon Seok-youl appears to be trying to improve relations with Japan, the sale of Japanese companies' assets is approaching due to the Korean Supreme Court ruling, and Korean public opinion is not accepting President Yoon's enthusiasm."

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