South Korea's appeals court on Wednesday ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate some laborers forced to work for the Japanese company during World War II.

The high court in Gwangju upheld a lower court's ruling that Mitsubishi should pay damages to four victims and one victim's family for forcibly mobilizing workers under Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Mitsubishi was ordered to pay 562 million won ($507,000) in damages, reduced from a 680 million won award issued by the lower court.