The ruling that "Japan has no liability for forced labor compensation" is wrong, court orders annulment and remand

85 Forced Labor Victims and Bereaved Families File Compensation Lawsuit Against Japanese Companies
Appeals Court Rules "First Trial Has Issues," Orders Seoul Central District Court to Retrial
First Trial Ruled "Individual Compensation Claims Extinguished"

The Seoul High Court Civil Division 33 (Presiding Judges Gu Hoe-geun, Hwang Seong-mi, Heo Ik-su) on the 1st overturned and remanded the appeal of a damages claim lawsuit filed by 85 forced labor victims and their families against 16 Japanese companies including Nippon Steel, Nissan Chemical, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, sending it back to the original court, the Seoul Central District Court. The court stated, "The case is being remanded due to issues in the first trial."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This lawsuit was filed in 2013 by forced labor victims and their families during the Japanese colonial period, claiming that despite having properly provided labor in the past, they did not receive wages, and thus sued Japanese companies. The first trial court dismissed the case, stating, "It is restricted for South Korean nationals to file lawsuits and exercise rights against the Japanese state or Japanese nationals," based on the premise that compensation claims are limited under the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement.

In particular, the presiding judge of the first trial, Chief Judge Kim Yang-ho, caused controversy with a ruling stating that "the $300 million in grants settled under the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement greatly contributed to the 'Miracle on the Han River' and cannot be underestimated, and individual claims for damages are already included in the agreement." At that time, more than 300,000 people signed a national petition demanding the impeachment of Judge Kim.

Following the remand of the appeal trial on this day, it is expected that the first trial court will reconsider the case. Immediately after the verdict, Kang Gil, the attorney representing the victims, said, "With the remand decision overturning the dismissal in the first trial, a substantive trial will be reopened."

Meanwhile, in another appeal trial involving 252 forced labor victims and their families, including Mr. Kim, who filed a lawsuit against three Japanese companies including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the court ruled as in the first trial that "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries must compensate Mr. Kim 10 million won."

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