A South Korean court increased the number of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries patent rights under seizure in a compensation case for conscripted labor used during Japan’s colonial occupation of the peninsula.
(Bloomberg) — A South Korean court increased the number of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries patent rights under seizure in a compensation case for conscripted labor used during Japan’s colonial occupation of the peninsula.
The Daejeon District Court approved the seizure of four South Korean-based patents of Mitsubishi Heavy on Monday at the request of two surviving victims and the families of two other forced labor victims who have died, according to a civic group backing the plaintiffs. A court spokesman declined to comment.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last month proposed to end a long-simmering dispute with Japan over compensation that had hurt security and trade ties. The plan was welcomed by the Biden administration and Tokyo, which invited Yoon for a summit with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and began undoing trade restrictions it had introduced at the height of the dispute.
But former conscripted laborers and plaintiffs for Koreans forced to work at Japanese mines and factories during the 1910-1945 colonial occupation have shown no signs of backing down from their legal fights.
Yoon proposed South Korean firms, rather than Japanese ones, would contribute to a compensation fund. His plan is meant to avoid forcing Japanese companies to provide compensation, in line with Tokyo’s contention that all such claims were settled under a 1965 agreement.
The ruling from the district court increased the scope of Mitsubishi assets subject to seizure to two trademark rights and 10 patent rights, the civic group said. Mitsubishi said in a response sent by email that it’s declining to comment on the matter.
The Japanese government has called “unlawful” the decisions by South Korean courts requiring compensation payments by Japanese firms with colonial links, and described the issue as “settled completely and finally” under the 1965 agreement.
The civic group said the amount that Mitsubishi owes the victims is about 687 million won ($521,000), including the compensation rulings by lower courts and interest that has accumulated during the years the cases have wound their way through the South Korean legal system.
The plaintiffs won compensation suits against Mitsubishi Heavy in 2014 and 2015 and the rulings were upheld by an appeals court, according to the civic group. The cases are currently pending at the Supreme Court.
Yoon’s support rate in a weekly tracking poll from Gallup Korea last week fell to a four-month low of 30%, while surveys show the majority of respondents in South Korea opposed the president’s compensation proposal.
–With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima.
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