South Korean court orders Mitsubishi to pay to wartime slave workersAugust 8, 2017 - 13:01 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A South Korean court ruled Tuesday, August 8 that Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries should pay compensation to former wartime slave workers, AFP reveals. The district court in the southern city of Gwangju ruled that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries should pay 120 million won ($106,700) in compensation to Kim Young-Ok, 85, and 3.25 million won to a relative of late victim Choe Jeong-Rye, activists and reports said. Mitsubishi said it would appeal. It is the second such ruling in four years. The Korean peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910-45, when Koreans were banned from using their own language in schools and forced to adopt Japanese names. Hundreds of thousands of Koreans were forcibly recruited as frontline troops, slave workers and wartime sex slaves known as comfort women. Issues of history still divide the neighbours, which are both US allies, and complicate their relationship even as they both face threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. "We welcome this ruling. This is another court victory for the victims and their relatives," Lee Kuk-Un, who leads a group of activists working for former slave workers, told AFP. The victims, both in their teens at the time, worked without pay at a Mitsubishi aircraft manufacturing plant in Nagoya in 1944 after being falsely promised they would be able to make money and study in Japan. Mitsubishi said in a statement it had not yet seen the ruling but would appeal. "As soon as we obtain the verdict and confirm the details, we want to swiftly go ahead with procedures to appeal the court decision," the company said. The case is one of 14 involving more than 1,000 South Korean victims that have been filed against Mitsubishi and several other Japanese firms seeking compensation for wartime slave labour. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. |