▲ Family members of the late Min Moon-sik, a victim of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea, and their legal representative talk to reporters after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the family in a damages suit filed against Nippon Steel at the court in southern Seoul on Aug. 12, 2026. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling ordering Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. to pay compensation to the family of a late South Korean forced into labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea.

It marked the top court's latest ruling in favor of families of forced labor victims since its landmark 2018 ruling that found Japanese companies liable for damages to such victims.

The court confirmed the order for Nippon Steel to pay 80 million won (US$56,500) in total to five family members of the late victim, Min Moon-sik, after they filed the lawsuit in 2019.

Min was forced into labor at a steel mill operated by the company in Kamaishi, Japan, for about five months in 1942. He died in 1989.

Since the 2018 ruling, courts have ruled in favor of victims of forced labor in multiple cases.

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