The Supreme Court of Korea has recently made some critical judgements that have stirred international attention. It ruled that both Hitachi Zosen Corp., the shipbuilder, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the heavy equipment manufacturer, owe victims of forced labor during World War II compensations of 50 million won (about $39,000) and 150 million won (about $116,000) respectively.
The judgement, conferring compensation to 16 families of former workers and one former worker, upholds previous rulings by two lower courts. The Seoul High Court, in January and June 2019, held that Hitachi Zosen and Mitsubishi Heavy were liable for damages to its former workforce. Back in 2018, the Gwangju High Court too had ordered Mitsubishi Heavy to compensate its former employees.
For context, during World War II, hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forced into labor in Japan for supporting the country in war. In 2018, the Supreme Court had issued two landmark decisions ordering Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel to compensate 15 Korean workers for wartime forced labor. However, Japanese companies have typically been averse to pay direct compensations as the previously ordered payment is yet to be implemented.
Japan has staunchly maintained that the compensation issues were resolved by a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea. It sees the recent verdicts as an infringement of the treaty provisions and argues they contradict South Korean government’s previous position, thereby undermining “the basis of bilateral ties.”
In response to the 2018 rulings, Japan’s then Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed his concerns over the precedent such rulings could set, suggesting it might hinder international agreements with the South Korean government. Despite such objections, the Korean court ruled that the 1965 treaty cannot supersede individuals’ rights to seek compensation for the “acts of illegality against humanity” that were recognized.
Last week, the Supreme Court upheld similar appellate court decisions against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel, which ruled that they should pay damages for forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.