Family members of forced labor victims during Japan's colonial period arrive at the Supreme Court in Seoul, South Korea, Dec 21, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

SEOUL - South Korea's top court on Thursday ordered Japanese firms to compensate the victims who were forced into harsh labor without pay during World War II.

The Supreme Court upheld two appellate court rulings that ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel to pay reparations to the forced labor victims.

Japan claimed that all colonial-era issues were settled through the 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo, but the South Korean top court said the state-to-state treaty did not involve individuals' right to reparation

Mitsubishi was ordered to pay the compensation of 100 million won ($76,700) to 150 million won ($115,000) to each of the three victims and a victim's family, while Nippon was ordered to pay 100 million won to each of the seven victims.

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All the victims have reportedly died since the lawsuits were filed between 2013 and 2014.

In 2018, the top court handed down the ruling that ordered Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi and Nippon, to compensate the forced labor victims.

Japan claimed that all colonial-era issues were settled through the 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo, but the South Korean top court said the state-to-state treaty did not involve individuals' right to reparation.

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The Korean Peninsula was colonized by Japan between 1910 and 1945.

Even after the top court's rulings, the accused Japanese firms had paid no reparation to the plaintiffs, or the victims and the bereaved families, who pushed to sell assets of the Japanese companies to no avail.