Supreme Court upholds rulings ordering Fujikoshi to compensate forced laborers

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Koreans who were forced to work in a Japanese munitions company during World War II. The court ordered Japanese machine maker Fujikoshi to pay the plaintiffs 2.1 billion won ($1.57 million).

Forced labor victims and their bereaved families address reporters’ questions after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of them on Thursday morning in Seocho District, southern Seoul. [YONHAP]

The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Koreans who were forced to work in a Japanese munitions company during World War II.

The court upheld previous rulings that ordered Japanese machine maker Fujikoshi — today called Nachi-Fujikoshi — to pay the plaintiffs 2.1 billion won ($1.57 million) and interest for delayed damages. Under the final ruling, each victim will be eligible for compensation between 80 million and 100 million won.

The victims were forced to work at Fujikoshi’s factory in Toyama, Japan, between 1944 and 1945.

The Koreans argued they were threatened or coerced to work at the factory or browbeat into it by their teachers.

The victims and bereaved families filed a damaged compensation suit in 2013 and two other damages suits in 2015.

A total of 41 people, 23 of whom worked at the factory, filed suits against the Japanese company. Only eight of the direct victims are still living today.

The Japanese company had refused to pay damages, arguing that the 1965 treaty between Korea and Japan had settled damages claims.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed this argument, citing its ruling in 2018 that recognized the victims' right to demand compensation for forced labor during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

The Japanese government expressed regret after the latest ruling.

On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan cannot accept the Korean court's decision.

“Thursday’s ruling violates the 1965 Korea-Japan agreement, the same way as previous rulings against Japanese companies did,” Hayashi said in a press briefing on Thursday.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]