A South Korean court on Friday upheld a compensation order against machinery-maker Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp. over wartime forced labor, the latest in a string of rulings over the issue that has chilled Japan-South Korea ties.
The Seoul High Court upheld a lower court ruling that awarded between 80 million and 100 million won ($71,300 to $89,200) in damages to each of 13 Korean women and the families of four others who have since died.
In a October 2014 ruling against the firm, the Seoul Central District Court determined that individuals have the right to seek redress even though Japan and South Korea had normalized diplomatic relations and were believed to have settled colonial-era issues and under a 1965 bilateral treaty.