South Korea, Japan: Seoul Invokes Plan to Circumvent Court Decision on Compensating Wartime Victims as Economic Talks With Tokyo Resume

South Korea's Supreme Court upheld prior rulings ordering Japanese companies Mitsubishi and Nippon Steel to compensate South Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of the peninsula, which President Yoon Suk Yeol immediately responded to by re-invoking his plan unveiled in March to redirect compensation through a government-affiliated foundation, thus leaving the Japanese companies off the hook, Yonhap News Agency reported Dec. 21....