A South Korean court has ordered a major Japanese steelmaker to pay four Koreans for forced labor during Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula. The ruling could impact similar lawsuits pending in South Korea and further damage Seoul and Tokyo's troubled relations.
Bruce Harrison reports from Seoul.
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South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that orders Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation to pay the plaintiffs nearly 90-thousand dollars each.
Just one of the four men who brought the suit seeking compensation and unpaid wages is still alive.
The men said they were forced to work at Japanese steel mills in the early 1940s.
Japan and South Korea have troubled ties over their past.
Many Koreans believe Japan still owes an official apology and compensation for actions during the colonial period.
Tokyo says the issue of forced labor was settled by a 1965 treaty to restore diplomatic ties.
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