South Korean court infuriates Japan by ordering Nippon Steel to compensate WWII workers
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - South Korea’s top court ruled on Tuesday Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (5401.T) must compensate four South Koreans for their forced labour during World War Two, a verdict Japan denounced as “unthinkable” while expressing hope that the uneasy neighbours’ cooperation on North Korea would not be hurt.
In a landmark ruling, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld a 2013 order for the company to pay 100 million won (68,451.44 pounds) to each of the four steel workers who initiated the suit in 2005, seeking compensation and unpaid wages.
The court ruled that the former labourers’ right to reparation was not terminated by a 1965 treaty normalising diplomatic ties, rejecting the position taken by the Japanese government and courts, Yonhap news agency said.
Lee Choon-shik, the 94-year-old sole surviving plaintiff, welcomed the ruling, saying in a televised news conference that it was “heartbreaking to see it today, left alone alive”.
The ruling prompted a swift and angry reaction from Tokyo.
