Japan protests Supreme Court ruling in partial favor of wartime forced labor victims
Published: 12 Dec. 2025, 13:19
![Representatives of a civic group, a plaintiff and a legal advocate hold a press conference after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling ordering a Japanese company to pay compensation to the family of a victim of Japan’s wartime forced labor, on Dec. 11. [THE CENTER FOR HISTORICAL TRUTH AND JUSTICE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/12/24ed13e2-8bac-4bed-8b99-fd595088e995.jpg)
Representatives of a civic group, a plaintiff and a legal advocate hold a press conference after the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling ordering a Japanese company to pay compensation to the family of a victim of Japan’s wartime forced labor, on Dec. 11. [THE CENTER FOR HISTORICAL TRUTH AND JUSTICE]
Tokyo protested a Korean Supreme Court ruling that ordered a Japanese company to compensate a victim of wartime forced labor, reiterating its view that the issue has already been settled and should be resolved through a third-party payment.
Masaaki Kanai, the director general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, conveyed Tokyo’s position to Kim Jang-hyun, the deputy chief of mission at the Korean Embassy in Tokyo, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the ministry, Japan's views are based on its “long-standing stance.”
The ruling came earlier on Thursday. The Supreme Court ruled in partial favor of the plaintiffs in a damages lawsuit brought by the four children of the late Jeong Hyeong-pal, a victim of forced labor, against Nippon Steel, formerly known as Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal.
The court ordered the Japanese steelmaker to pay a total of 100 million won ($68,000) to the plaintiffs.
Tokyo has previously rejected the Korean court rulings that impose liability on Japanese firms, arguing that compensation claims related to forced mobilization during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula were fully resolved under the 1965 treaty normalizing relations between the two countries and the accompanying claims agreement.
Japan has, however, supported the third-party compensation plan announced under former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration in 2023.
Under the plan, the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan, affiliated with Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety, pays compensation and late-payment interest to plaintiffs who have secured final court rulings. The foundation's funds come from voluntary private-sector contributions instead of payments from the Japanese companies named in the lawsuits.
Kim said Japan's Foreign Ministry contacted him to reiterate its position: “Japan's Foreign Ministry reached out and conveyed the same message as before.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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