▲ The Supreme Court (Yonhap)

(LEAD) forced labor victim-Supreme Court

(LEAD) Supreme Court again orders Japanese company to compensate Korean forced labor victim

(ATTN: ADDS comments from foreign ministry in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld another appellate court ruling that ordered a Japanese company to compensate the family of a late South Korean forced into wartime labor during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.

The top court handed down the decision on a damages suit filed by the victim's family against Nippon Steel Corp. in 2015. The Supreme Court previously confirmed similar compensation orders for Nippon Steel and other Japanese companies in response to lawsuits launched in the early 2010s.

In the latest ruling approved by the Supreme Court, Nippon Steel was ordered to pay 100 million won (US$76,700) and compensation for delayed payment to three family members of the victim, who was forcibly taken to Japan in 1943 to work for a Nippon Steel steelworks without pay.

The victim, whose identity was withheld, died in 2012.

The foreign ministry said it will continue to push for the government's plan to compensate the victims through a government-affiliated foundation funded by South Korean companies.

Seeking to mend ties with Japan, South Korea announced the so-called third-party reimbursement plan in March last year to compensate the victims through the foundation without compensation from liable Japanese firms.

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