Foreign
A court in Seoul has dismissed the largest-ever claim for damages ever filed by former Korean forced labourers against Japanese companies, according to reports on Monday.
During Japan’s 1910-to-1945 colonial rule of Korea, and then during World War II, Japanese companies forced hundreds of thousands of Koreans into work, according to estimates.
The Seoul Central District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by 85 former victims against 16 companies, South Korean broadcasters and national news agency Yonhap reported.
According to the reports, the court largely followed the Japanese government’s position that the 1965 normalisation treaty between the two countries also covered compensation claims by former forced labourers.
If the plaintiffs’ individual claims in the case were accepted, international law could be violated, including the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
The companies sued included Nippon Steel and Nissan Chemical.
In their May 2015 lawsuit, the plaintiffs had sought 8.6 billion won (about 7.7 million dollars) from 17 companies.
The lawsuit against one of the companies was later withdrawn.
The plaintiffs’ group and their lawyers reportedly announced that they would appeal Monday’s ruling.
The dispute over compensation for former forced labourers as well as South Korean victims of sexual enslavement by the Japanese military during World War II has strained relations between the two countries for decades. (dpa/NAN)
– June 07, 2021 @ 15:55 GMT
Tags: South Korean court rejects forced labour claim against Japanese firms
