ROK's Supreme Court ruling a slap in the face for Yoon govt

On Jan 11, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea ruled that Japan-based Nippon Steel Corporation should pay 100 million Korean won ($76,118) as compensation to the family of a forcibly conscripted laborer during World War II. In response, the Japanese government immediately lodged a protest.

The victim in the case was forcibly taken from Korea to Japan at the age of 13 in March 1943, where he was forced to work without payment. In April 1944, he was assigned to the Japanese military as a soldier, and returned to Korea after the war. After he passed away in 2012, his widow and three children filed a lawsuit in May 2015 seeking compensation.

On the same day as the judgment was announced, the ROK and Japan held their first bilateral high-level economic talks in eight years in Seoul and agreed to promote cooperation. This ruling, along with Japan's strong official response, undoubtedly put Seoul in an awkward position.