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New S. Korea Suits Filed Against Japanese Firms Over Forced Labor

by Steve Miller

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA -- Survivors and family members of laborers forced
   to work during World War II have sued additional Japanese companies
   seeking compensation. The legal action marks the first new litigation
   brought against Japanese entities since a South Korean court first
   ordered Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to compensate
   victims for their wartime forced labor in October 2018.

   The eight new suits were brought about against four companies: Nippon
   Steel, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp., and
   Nippon Coke & Engineering (formerly known as Mitsui Mining Co.).

   The 31 plaintiffs include four direct survivors of the 1910-1945 period
   when Japan controlled the Korean Peninsula and 27 family members from
   six other deceased workers. Each is seeking compensation of up to
   almost $88,000.

   Two wartime victims involved with the suit appeared with the Lawyers
   for a Democratic Society and the Center for Historical Truth and
   Justice during a press conference when the cases were filed.

   "I feel something gushing out of me when I think now (about the past).
   It's one difficult matter, why did we have to be taken by them and live
   like dogs and pigs?" said 102-year-old survivor Kim Han-soo.

   Seeking court-ordered reparations

   In November 2018, South Korea's top court ruled that Japan's Mitsubishi
   Heavy Industries Ltd. must compensate South Koreans just more than
   $71,000 in two separate cases for their forced labor during World War
   II.

   It was a ruling that prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to
   characterize as "unthinkable in light of international law."

   Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has not paid the compensation, because
   the Japanese government's position is that all historical compensation
   was settled in 1965, when Seoul and Tokyo re-established formal
   diplomatic ties; however, Seoul courts have determined that the
   settlement of claims related to forced labor was not included in the
   bilateral agreement.

   As a result, a Daejeon District Court last month ordered the seizure of
   assets held by Japanese firms.

   Victims are attempting to remedy the situation through mediation, but
   the matter remains unresolved.

   Steve Miller is a veteran broadcast journalist with over a decade of
   experience. Much of that time he covered the Asia-Pacific region while
   living in South Korea. During Steve's time in Asia, he explored the
   region's rich history and culture (and not to mention food) while
   reporting on geopolitics, human rights, and tourism.