Court: Japan company must pay Koreans for forced labor during WWII
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A Seoul court has ordered a Japanese steel company to pay more than $87,000 (100 million won) to four South Koreans for forced labor and unpaid wages during World War II.
The Seoul Supreme Court ruled that Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSM) should pay each of the four plaintiffs, who were forced to work at a Japanese steel factory from 1941 to 1943 during the 1940-45 Japanese colonial rule of Korea.
The ruling concludes a long-running lawsuit filed by the four against the Japanese steel company in 2005. Of them, only a 94-year-old Lee Chun-shik survived to see the high court's decision.
"We were four, but now I'm alone. I feel sad to see the trial today. All four of us had hardships and I feel sad not having them here today," said Lee at a press conference in Seoul.
