'Japanese Mitsubishi Files "Immediate Appeal" Against Forced Labor Compensation Rejection... Documents Submitted the Day After Public Notice Delivery Takes Effect'

Delay in Seizure and Asset Sale Procedures for Compensation... Despite 2018 Supreme Court Ruling, Compensation Ignored, Claims Amounting to 804 Million Won
Japan Expands Issue to Diplomatic Matter Citing Korea-Japan Claims Agreement

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] It has been confirmed that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan immediately filed an interlocutory appeal after the enforcement of compulsory execution for compensation related to forced labor during the Japanese colonial period took effect.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. filed an interlocutory appeal with the Daejeon District Court, which ordered the seizure via public notice delivery. The interlocutory appeals were submitted on December 30 and 31 of last year, just one day after the enforcement of the compulsory execution took effect. An interlocutory appeal is a procedure to contest a court decision that requires prompt confirmation regarding enforcement.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the civil lawsuit debtor subject to seizure orders on patent rights and trademark rights of four forced labor victims, including Yang Geum-deok. The seizure orders for two patent rights of Park Hae-ok and two patent rights of Kim Sung-joo took effect on December 29 through public notice delivery, while the seizure orders for two trademark rights of Yang Geum-deok and two patent rights of Lee Dong-ryeon took effect on the 30th.

The interlocutory appeal by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a perpetrator company of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, had already been anticipated. Japanese media such as Kyodo News reported that "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries holds the position that the forced labor issue was completely and finally resolved under the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement and that no claims can be made," and that they intend to file an interlocutory appeal.

Five forced labor victims and their families, through a damages lawsuit that began in 2012, received a Supreme Court final ruling in November 2018 ordering "the defendant to pay consolation money to the plaintiffs." However, the Japanese side has been refusing to accept the court's decision, delaying compensation repeatedly and escalating the issue into a diplomatic matter. The amount of the victims' claims, excluding one deceased plaintiff, is 804 million KRW.