South Korea's Supreme Court has finalized a ruling ordering a Japanese construction firm to compensate the family of a wartime forced labor victim. The 22-year-old victim, surnamed Park, was conscripted in October 1944 at the firm's Fukushima office and died the following February. The decision upholds a 2018 top court ruling affirming victims' rights to seek damages.
On January 30, 2026, South Korea's Supreme Court finalized a ruling that a Japanese construction company, Kumagai Gumi, must pay 100 million won (about $69,500) in compensation to the family of a victim of wartime forced labor. The victim, a 22-year-old man surnamed Park, was conscripted in October 1944 to work at the firm's Fukushima office and died there the following February. He was among many Koreans mobilized during Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
The family filed a compensation lawsuit against Kumagai Gumi in April 2019. The district court initially dismissed the case, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired. However, the appellate court reversed this, setting 2018 as the base year for the limitations period—when the Supreme Court had affirmed forced labor victims' rights to seek damages from Japanese firms. The top court upheld the appellate decision, making it final.
This ruling reinforces accountability for historical injustices under Japanese colonial rule. It builds on the 2018 Supreme Court precedent that recognized victims' claims against Japanese companies, amid ongoing lawsuits seeking reparations for wartime abuses. The case highlights enduring tensions over Japan's imperial past and the quest for justice for survivors and their families.
