Japanese firm ordered to pay compensation to South Korean war victim's children

By Efe Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - A court in South Korea on Thursday ordered a Japanese firm to pay 100 million won ($75,000) in compensation to four children of a deceased victim of wartime forced labor.

The court in the capital Seoul issued a ruling in a lawsuit brought by the descendants of a victim with the surname Jeong who had sought 200 million won ($150,000) in damages from Nippon Steel Corp.

They claimed Jeong was forcibly mobilized to work at the Japanese company's Iwate steel mill from 1940 to 1942.

Previously, the same court had ruled against the plaintiffs, a ruling which was overturned today.

In its verdict last year on a case filed by 16 plaintiffs, the Seoul High Court said Japan had engaged in illegal acts when it mobilized “comfort women" (women forced into sexual slavery) around World War II, so Tokyo should pay compensation to the victims. Japan issued a “strong protest” to the verdict.

Japan apologized for its colonial-era excesses and agreed to contribute 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to a foundation that supports the victims.

However, Seoul in 2023 said it would compensate the Korean victims on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese companies.

Japanese government spokesman Matsuno Hirokazu said “Japan’s objections to the court ruling” had been reiterated, but also stressed the “importance of cooperation between Japan and South Korea as tensions in the region rise.”

Nine years ago, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to “finally and irreversibly” resolve the wartime sex slave issue.