107-year-old Kim Han-soo maintains that during the Japanese occupation Korean Peninsula He was incorporated into forced labor at the shipyard led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
It was recruited in 1944, i.e. a year before the final defeat Great Japan Empire in World War II. 75 years later, the man decided to bring a trial for compensation to the Asian technological giant.
South Korea. The 107-year-old after 80 years was judged by war compensation
In 2022, Kim's lawsuit He was rejected; The judge argued with his decision to expire the limitation period of the case, which – according to the South Korean judiciary – ended in May 2015.
South Korean civil law assumes that since the discovery of damage and identifying its perpetrator, the injured person has Three years to apply for compensation. The Supreme Court recognized the right to seek justice regarding forced labor during World War II in 2012.
Kim appealed against the sentence and finally achieved success. Department of Appeal of the Central District Court in Seoul repealed the previous ruling and obliged Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay 100 million won (approx. 73 400 dollars) 107-year-old.
The victim of forced labor will most likely follow the taste
The court referred to the decision of the Supreme Court of 2018, in which Japanese companies were obliged to pay compensation to Korean forced employees who worked in the area Tokio. Therefore, the judge decided that the limitation period should be calculated on the basis of the deadline for issuing the Supreme Court judgment.
Despite the decision, the Yonhap agency predicts that the likelihood of compensation by Kim Han-Soo is extremely unlikely.
In such cases, the Japanese government refers to Treaty of 1965 on the normalization of bilateral relations between Tokyo and Seulaccording to which the issues of war reparations have already been resolved.