Nippon Steel snubs South Korean lawyers in wartime labour fight
South Korea’s top court ruled that the Japanese company had to pay four steel workers 100-million won each, but their lawyers were turned away at the entrance to Nippon’s headquarters
Tokyo — Lawyers seeking compensation for South Koreans forced to work for Japanese firms during World War 2 on Monday demanded Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal honour a South Korean court ruling that has strained ties between the two countries. Last month, South Korea’s top court ruled that Nippon Steel must pay four steel workers 100-million won ($87,700) each for their forced labour during the war, a decision Japan has denounced as “unthinkable.” The South Korean lawyers sought a meeting with Nippon Steel representatives at the company’s Tokyo headquarters on Monday, but were turned away at the entrance. “We got an answer from them. However, it was not from the company itself, but from a contract security guard,” lawyer Lim Jae Sung told reporters. A Nippon Steel spokesperson said its security officers spoke to the group at the visitors’ entrance and told them the company’s position had not changed. The company has said that it regretted the court ruling and repeated the Japa...
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