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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 29 december 2023

South Korea’s top court orders a 3rd Japanese company to

compensate workers for forced labor

By JIWON SONG to provide compensation
Associated Press to other Koreans for similar
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) colonial-era forced labor.
— South Korea’s top court Japan’s Foreign Ministry
on Thursday ordered a responded by summoning
third Japanese company a senior South Korean dip-
to compensate some of its lomat in Japan to lodge
former wartime Korean em- a formal protest. In the
ployees for forced labor, meeting, Hiroyuki Namazu,
the second such ruling in a director-general for the
week. Japanese Foreign Minis-
The South Korean verdict try’s Asian and Oceanian
drew quick rebukes from Affairs Bureau, called the
Japan, but observers say latest South Korean ruling
it’s unlikely the ruling will “extremely regrettable and
cause any major negative absolutely unacceptable,”
impacts on bilateral rela- according to the Japanese
tions, as both governments ministry.
are serious about improv- Namazu maintained Ja-
ing their cooperation in the pan’s long-held position
face of shared challenges that all compensation issues
like North Korea’s nuclear between the two countries
program and China’s as- Family members of victims react outside the Supreme Court of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, were settled when they
Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023.
sertiveness. Associated Press normalized ties in 1965. The
The Supreme Court ruled South Korean rulings in 2018
that shipbuilder Hitachi Mitsubishi and another Jap- 1944, when they worked for Court in two separate rul- and this month argued that
Zosen Corp. and heavy anese company, Nippon Mitsubishi’s aircraft-making ings in 2018 ordered Mit- the treaty can’t prevent
equipment manufacturer Steel, were previously given factory in Nagoya. Oth- subishi and Nippon Steel to individuals from seeking
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries a similar compensation or- ers include the relatives of compensate some of their compensation for forced
must give between 50 mil- der by the South Korean late Mitsubishi workers who former Korean employees, labor because Japanese
lion won (about $39,000) court, but it was the first were injured during the U.S. saying they were forced companies’ use of such
and 150 million won (about such ruling for Hitachi. atomic bombing of Hiro- to provide their labors to laborers were “acts of il-
$116,000) in compensation Among the plaintiffs are shima and another war- the companies when the legality against humanity”
to each of the 17 Korean the surviving victim who time event, according to a Korean Peninsula was colo- that were linked to Tokyo’s
plaintiffs one of whom is a suffered a serious burn and court press release. nized by Japan from 1910- illegal colonial occupation
surviving ex-worker and the the bereaved family of a A ruling in favor of Korean 45. On Dec. 21, the top and its war of aggression.q
rest bereaved relatives. worker who died during plaintiffs was widely expect- court again ordered Mit-
an earthquake in Japan in ed because the Supreme subishi and Nippon Steel

More Ukrainian children from Ukraine’s Russia-held regions arrive

in Belarus despite global outrage

By YURAS KARMANAU a government-organized national outrage over his Russian forces. have organized a system
Associated Press meeting with children country’s involvement in The Belarusian opposition of transfer of Ukrainian chil-
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Be- brought from Russia-con- Moscow’s deportation of has urged the International dren, including orphans,
larus’ authoritarian presi- trolled areas of Ukraine, Ukrainian children. Criminal Court to hold Lu- from the occupied terri-
dent on Thursday attended openly defying an inter- Speaking at the event kashenko and his officials tories to Belarus, and this
marking the arrival of a new accountable for their in- channel is still working,” La-
group of Ukrainian children volvement in the illegal tushka told The Associated
ahead of the New Year hol- transfer of Ukrainian chil- Press.
iday, President Alexander dren. In March, the ICC issued ar-
Lukashenko vowed to “em- Pavel Latushka, a former rest warrants for both Rus-
brace these children, bring Belarusian culture minister sian President Vladimir Pu-
them to our home, keep turned opposition activist tin and his children’s rights
them warm and make their who has presented the ICC commissioner, Maria Lvo-
childhood happier.” with evidence of Lukashen- va-Belova, accusing them
Belarusian officials did not ko’s alleged involvement of the war crimes of un-
say how many Ukrainian in the unlawful deporta- lawful deportation of chil-
children were brought into tion of the children, said dren and unlawful transfer
the country. the arrival of a new group of children from occupied
A recent study by Yale Uni- from Russia-occupied terri- areas of Ukraine to Russia.
versity has found that more tories “underlines the need Moscow has rejected the
Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, left, and Russian than 2,400 Ukrainian chil- for the ICC to investigate allegations.q
President Vladimir Putin pose for a photo prior to a session of dren aged 6-17 have been those crimes.”
the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Minsk, brought to Belarus from four “Lukashenko, his family
Belarus, Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. Ukrainian regions that have members and associates
Associated Press been partially occupied by together with the Kremlin