Forcing Koreans to work -- what was essentially slave labor --- was one of a number of atrocities committed against Korea during Japan's brutal colonial rule of the peninsula. <br />An estimated one-point-two million of Koreans were forced to work in Japanese industries with little or no pay.... and many actually died because of the awful conditions and dangerous work. <br />After more than 70 years since the colonization came to an end,... a final Supreme Court ruling on some of the workers' cases is due in a couple of hours.<br />It's a decision that could have big repercussions for the diplomatic relationship between Seoul and Tokyo.<br />Lee Ji-won has more. <br />South Korea's Supreme Court is set to rule on a damages lawsuit against Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation that was filed by four Korean victims of Japan's forced labor during Tokyo's unforgiving colonial rule of Korea.<br /> The verdict is due to be announced at 2PM, Korea time.<br /><br />The victims first filed a lawsuit in Japan in 1997,... but the Japanese court ruled that colonization is not illegal, thus there was no legal issue with using forced labor during that time.<br /> The Japanese government also continues to maintain that the 1965 bilateral agreement, "Concerning the Settlement of Problems in Regard to Property and Claims and Economic Cooperation" draws a line under the two countries' history. <br />The agreement was reached to normalize diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo,... under which Japan paid South Korea five hundred million U.S. dollars. <br /><br />Having lost in the Japanese court, the plaintiffs sued the Japanese company in South Korea in 2005. <br /> And after years of trials and appeals,... the Seoul High Court finally ordered the company to pay around 89-thousand U.S. dollars per victim in 2013,... ruling that forced labor goes against constitutional values and the 1965 agreement does not terminate individuals' right to reparation.<br />Later that year,... an appeal was lodged by the steel company with no further development on the case from then on. <br /><br /> Now five years on, only one of the four original plaintiffs is still alive.<br /> But with Japan continuing to insist the issue has long been settled and even threatening to take it all the way to the International Court of Justice,... Seoul-Tokyo ties could be in for a rough ride if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the victims.<br />Lee Ji-won, Arirang News. <br />
