- Title: South Korea says it respects court's decision on Japanese forced labour
- Date: 6th November 2018
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (NOVEMBER 6, 2018) (REUTERS) SOUTH KOREA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, KIM DEUK-HWAN, WALKING TOWARDS PODIUM NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS SOUTH KOREA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS SITTING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, KIM DEUK-HWAN, SAYING: "As we already announced on October 30 through the prime minister's public statement, the government respects the court's decision and will consider the overall situation and act accordingly. We are clearly sending this message to Japan." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF SOUTH KOREA'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SIGN READING (Korean and English): "MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS"
- Embargoed: 20th November 2018 06:37
- Keywords: South Korea Japan forced labour World War Two court Foreign Ministry court ruling Nippon
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00195D8RWL
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Korea's government respects a court ruling stating that Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp must compensate four South Koreans for their forced labour during World War Two, the country's foreign ministry said during a news conference on Tuesday (November 6).
The ruling last week by a top court in Seoul has forced the U.S. allies to confront hardening public opinion and divergent views of history. Japan denounced the verdict as "unthinkable" while expressing hope that the uneasy neighbours' cooperation on North Korea would not be hurt.
The two countries need to cooperate to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, and they also have close business ties. Japanese firms invested $1.84 billion in South Korea last year, its second largest foreign investor, Korean data show.
But relations have long been plagued by the legacy of Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the peninsula and the war, including the matter of "comfort women," a euphemism for girls and women forced to work in Japanese wartime military brothels. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None