Lee Go-un (center), the eldest daughter of Lee Chun-sik, a surviving victim of forced labor at Nippon Steel, with lawyer Lim Jae-sung (far right) and Kim Young-hwan (far left), head of external affairs at The Center for Historical Truth and Justice, enter the headquarters of Nippon Steel in Tokyo on Monday. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
TOKYO, Mar. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – In a defiant move, families of victims of forced labor during World War II, who have rejected South Korea’s proposed solution of third-party compensation, visited Japanese companies on March 25 to demand a direct apology and payment from the firms involved.
However, their efforts were met with a cold shoulder from the corporations.
Undeterred by heavy rain, Lee Go-un, the eldest daughter of Lee Chun-sik, a surviving victim of forced labor at Nippon Steel, and representatives of victims forcibly conscripted to work at Mitsubishi and Fujikoshi companies, visited the Tokyo headquarters of these firms.
Accompanied by their lawyers, members of civic groups from South Korea and Japan, and holding placards with photos of their parents, they insisted the companies take responsibility for their actions during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
At Nippon Steel’s office in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, the group entered the building, requesting a meeting and attempting to submit a document outlining their demands. However, they were swiftly turned away by company officials who refused to meet with them or accept the document, citing a lack of prior appointment.
“Despite our request for a meeting in advance, we were told that they could not meet us because there was no appointment,” said Lim Jae-seong, the lawyer representing the victims’ families. “When we asked them to at least accept the document containing the families’ demands, they replied they did not have time to come down and meet us.”
In a defiant move, families of victims of forced labor during World War II, who have rejected South Korea’s proposed solution of third-party compensation, visited Japanese companies on March 25 to demand a direct apology and payment from the firms involved. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Lee Go-un, visibly emotional, criticized Nippon Steel’s response as “cowardly and lacking courage.” She vowed to continue fighting until the company apologized, stating, “My father worked for this company, and his blood and sweat are part of this building.”
The group faced similar rejections at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Fujikoshi, with the companies uniformly refusing to engage or accept the documents presented by the victims’ families.
The visit came after the South Korean Supreme Court ruled in favor of the victims, awarding them compensation from the Japanese companies.
However, the South Korean government proposed a third-party compensation plan, where a public foundation would pay the damages using donated funds, which 11 of the 15 victims accepted.
The remaining four, including Lee Chun-sik, rejected this solution, demanding direct payments from the companies involved.
The Japanese government and companies have maintained that all claims related to forced labor were settled under the 1965 treaty that normalized relations between the two countries.
Tokyo has urged Seoul to resolve the issue through the third-party compensation plan, calling the Supreme Court rulings a violation of the treaty.
As the families of victims vowed to continue their fight, their visit drew significant media attention, with dozens of reporters from South Korea and Japan present. Security guards at Nippon Steel even attempted to prevent photographers from capturing images of the families entering the building, highlighting the sensitive nature of the issue.
After being turned away by the companies, the group held a press conference at the Japanese Diet, where they reiterated their demands for sincere apologies and direct compensation from the firms involved.
Park Sang-un, son of forced labor victim Yang Geum-deok, stated, “Even if my mother were to starve, she would reject the third-party compensation plan. If they sincerely apologize, we will gladly forgive them.”
Lawyer Lim Jae-seong criticized the Japanese government’s stance, saying, “It is neither justified nor sustainable for the Japanese government to turn a blind eye to this issue, expecting the South Korean government to handle it.”
He noted that the victims have consistently won in court, and legally, the third-party compensation plan would not be a viable option.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
