hankyoreh

South Korean activists call for an apology and compensation from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for wartime forced labor in a press conference on Nov. 27, 2019. (Yonhap News)

With Mitsubishi Heavy Industries having yet to comply with a ruling ordering it to provide compensation to victims of forced labor mobilization during the occupation, a court has seized cash for a South Korean company that was meant to go to the Japanese corporation.

Some observers say that this could mean a greater likelihood that forced labor mobilization victims receive their compensation.

An investigation by the Hankyoreh on Wednesday found that the Anyang branch of Suwon District Court ruled on Aug. 12 to accept a seizure and collection order request submitted against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries early this month by one forced mobilization survivor and family members of three other victims who have died.

The plaintiffs were demanding the confiscation of bonds related to the payment that the corporation was meant to receive from a South Korean company for items.

The South Korean company is LS Mtron, a subsidiary of the LS Group. The court reportedly seized 850 million won (US$722,055) in payments for tractor engines and other components. The amount includes the 340 million won (US$288,822) in compensation for the four victims as finalized by the court ruling, along with delay damages and enforcement costs.

With the confiscation in effect, LS Mtron was no longer able to send money to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as of Wednesday.

The confiscation is based on a final ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court in 2018, which held Mitsubishi Heavy Industries liable for compensation. The plaintiffs filed their suit demanding damages from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in October 2012, with the Supreme Court ultimately siding with them in November 2018.

At the time, the court said, “The right of victims to claim damages is the right of victims of forced mobilization victims to demand compensation from Japanese companies, which is predicated on inhumane and illegal activities by Japanese companies that relate directly to the Japanese government’s illegal colonial rule and war of aggression.”

On this basis, it said that the right was “not included in the scope of the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement,” acknowledging that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries did indeed bear responsibility for compensation.

But Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has yet to comply with the ruling, insisting that its “understanding is that [matters related to forced mobilization victims] were fully and finally resolved by the Claims Settlement Agreement and that [the victims] can no longer make any claims.”

Legal representatives of the victim and family members are demanding that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries apologize and pay the compensation awarded in the ruling.

Attorney Im Jae-seong and other representatives said they planned to “collect the bonds directly from LS Mtron based on the confiscated bond collection order in the event that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries refuses to comply with the ruling.”

By Joh Yun-yeong, staff reporter

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