South Korea’s top court to issue ruling this month on wartime forced labor claims against Japanese firm
South Korea’s Supreme Court has said it will rule on Oct. 30 on a damages lawsuit against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. filed by four victims of wartime forced labor under Japan’s colonial rule. The Japanese government says all matters of assets and claims between the two countries were fully and finally resolved under a bilateral agreement...If the court recognizes the plaintiffs’ right to claim damages incurred during World War II, a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Seoul would likely follow. In 2012, the court judged that the accord did not eliminate individuals’ rights to claim damages...Following the ruling, the high court ordered the firm to pay 100 million won per plaintiff in 2013. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal appealed the ruling...The top court faced allegations that it was delaying a ruling on the suit for five years from 2013 per the wishes of former President Park Geun-hye’s administration...In August this year, the court started hearings on the suit...