China News Service, Seoul, December 12 (Reporter Liu Xu) The South Korean government said on the 22st that it would pay compensation to the victims of forced Korean labor that the Supreme Court (Supreme Court) awarded Japanese companies on the same day in accordance with the "third-party compensation" plan announced by the government in March this year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Im so-seok replied to the above at a regular press conference on the same day on the question of "whether the third-party compensation settlement method will also be applied to the victims who won the lawsuit". He said that the government will continue to make sincere efforts to meet with each victim and their bereaved family members together with the Foundation for the Support of Victims of Forced Mobilization of Japanese Empire, which is responsible for compensation compensation, to fully explain the government's solution and seek understanding.
In response to the Japanese side's reiteration that the judgment violated the ROK-Japan Claims Agreement and was unacceptable, Ren also said that he would take necessary measures in accordance with the law and communicate with the Japanese side as necessary.
On the 21st, the Supreme Court of South Korea rejected the appeals of Japanese companies in two cases of compensation for forced labor against Japan, upheld the original judgment, and found that two Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corporation, should pay compensation for the forced recruitment of Korean laborers during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. On the same day, the Japanese government said that it was "very regrettable and unacceptable" to the verdict.
In 2018, the Supreme Court of South Korea held that the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement did not prevent victims of forced labor from suing the company, and ordered the Japanese company to compensate the plaintiff. However, the Japanese company refused to pay damages.
As a solution, in March this year, the Yoon Suk-yeol government proposed a "third-party compensation" plan in which the South Korean government and companies would pay compensation on their behalf, but some victims refused to receive it. (ENDS)