On December 24, the Supreme Court of South Korea affirmed a lower court's ruling that Nishimatsu Construction, a Japanese company implicated in forced labor during Japan's colonization of Korea, must pay damages to the family of a deceased victim. The case involved Kim, who died in 1944 while working under forced conditions at a construction site in North Hamgyong Province. The families had filed a lawsuit in 2019 seeking 100 million won in compensation based on the suffering endured during the colonial era.

A pivotal issue in the case was the statute of limitations for filing damage claims under civil law. The lower court had initially determined that the claim had expired based on when the victims or their families became aware of the damages. However, the appellate court overturned this finding, asserting that the statute of limitations should be calculated based on a Supreme Court decision from 2018 that clarified that claims for damages due to forced labor are not included under the Japan-Korea Claims Agreement. This allowed the families to pursue their claims despite the time elapsed since the victim's death.

This decision is significant as it reinforces the legal accountability of Japanese companies for their actions during the colonial period. The Supreme Court's ruling serves as a precedent for future cases involving compensation for forced labor, signaling a shift in the judicial approach to historical grievances and heightening the complexities in Japan-South Korea relations regarding war reparations and historical acknowledgment.