The lawyers were carrying photos of three deceased victims as well as a photo of a surviving victim who was too elderly to make the trip to Japan. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Lawyers representing forced labor victims who won a case at Korea’s Supreme Court for their past misery paid a visit to the head office of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSM), the Japanese company that was ordered to pay damages, in Tokyo, Japan only to have the door slammed in their faces.
Lawyers Im Jae-seong and Kim Se-eun visited the headquarter of NSSM in Chiyodo, Tokyo alongside Japanese activists.
The lawyers were carrying photos of three deceased victims as well as a photo of a surviving victim who was too elderly to make the trip to Japan.
The lawyers and activists who came to discuss the details of the damages with NSSM employees, carrying an official letter of request, were met by subcontracted employees in charge of managing the company’s building.
The Japanese employees of the management company accepted the letter on behalf of NSSM but did not state whether the letter would be delivered to company employees.
The lawyers and activists left the building after 30 minutes, unable to deliver the letter or talk to NSSM employees regarding the court ruling.
Lawyer Im Jae-seong held a press conference in front of the building and said that refusing to hold talks was cowardly behavior.
“Since NSSM has not revealed plans to pay damages and refused to negotiate, we will be taking steps to seize the company’s assets in Korea,” said the lawyer.
More than 100 Korean and Japanese reporters followed the lawyers as they attempted to talk to NSSM employees.
NSSM was ordered by the South Korean Supreme Court last month to pay 100 million won each to four former victims of forced labor, but the company done nothing thus far to indicate that it plans to comply with the ruling.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
