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Lee Chun-sik, 98, awaits the ruling of South Korean Supreme Court regarding forced mobilization and labor during the Japanese occupation in Seoul on Aug. 22. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)
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Supreme Court decision left in limbo for 5 years due to corruption under Park administration
Lee Chun-sik, 98, couldn’t stop crying as he stood before the South Korean Supreme Court, in the Seocho District of Seoul, on the morning of Aug. 22. “I couldn’t say something nice even if I wanted to. The catch in my throat and the tears in my eyes make it hard to speak. It would bring me joy for them to deal with this quickly, before I die,” said Lee, a victim of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period. Lee was separated from his family in 1941 when he was press-ganged to work under unpleasant and unsafe conditions at the Kamaishi steel works, operated by Nippon Steel. He wasn’t given enough to eat, let alone wages for his work. His sense of injustice motivated him to sue the Japanese company for damages in 2005, along with three other people forced to work in similar conditions. Lee and the other plaintiffs’ claims were rejected in the initial trial and the first appeal, but in May 2012 the first panel of the Supreme Court (under Justice Kim Neung-hwan) sided with Lee and remanded the case to the lower court. After that, the Seoul High Court ordered the Japanese company to pay 100 million won (US$89,188) plus interest, but after the case reached the Supreme Court, the final ruling has been in limbo for more than five years. Recently, the secret of those five years’ limbo has been coming to light. Little by little, evidence has emerged in an investigation by the prosecutors that the courts – as part of intense lobbying for more appeals courts and for the assignment of judges to overseas embassies - had repeatedly delayed the trial in an attempt to overturn the forced labor decision, which had displeased the administration of former president Park Geun-hye. It was not until this past July that the Supreme Court stopped dragging its feet and finally referred the case to the full bench. “The Supreme Court is rotten. How could they try to overturn a ruling? I want them to quickly wrap up this case and let us know the results,” Lee said. People who took part in a press conference with Lee demanded the immediate resignation of the Supreme Court justices appointed along with former chief justice Yang Seung-tae, contending that no just ruling could be expected from such judges. After the press conference, Lee and his attorney Lim Jae-seong, with Haemaru Law Firm, visited the Supreme Court’s public service center to submit a request for the justices’ resignation. While Lee said he was “upset” about having waited so long for the courts to bring him relief, he was “grateful” to see the resignation request submitted. “I can die with no regrets,” he said. “Just as important as trials being fair is that they look fair. The justices connected with this trial should all step down or at least openly disclose its procedural details,” Lim said. By Kim Min-kyoung, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
