In 2013, 63 South Koreans sued Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for damages. They accused the Japanese company of having forced them to work in their coal mines or workshops during Japanese colonial rule (1910-45).
On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court only admitted the lawsuit from one of them, to whom Mitsubishi must pay compensation of 10 million won ($8,600), Kyodo reported.
The court dismissed the claims of 54 plaintiffs because they did not present sufficient evidence that they worked for the Japanese company.
The claim for the remaining eight was rejected on procedural issues.
In 2018, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy to compensate other South Korean citizens for forcing them to work during Japanese colonial rule. This ruling – and others against Japanese companies for the same reason – has hurt relations between the two countries.
The official position of the Japanese state is that all claims regarding war were resolved with the 1965 treaty that normalized relations between Japan and South Korea. (International Press)
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