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A civic group supporting forced labor victims hold a press conference in Gwangju announcing the victims’ move to liquidate the assets of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in South Korea on July 23.

South Koreans who were forced to work for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries during Japan’s colonial occupation have asked the court to authorize sales of the company’s assets in the country. This is the second time that victims of forced labor have asked for the liquidation of the assets of Japanese companies that are disregarding court orders related to their commission of war crimes, after a similar request filed against Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. The Japanese government expressed its concerns and reiterated its request for the South Korean government to address the issue.

“Our legal team has filed a request with the Daejeon District Court to sell six patents and two trademarks held in South Korea by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries,” said an NGO organized to support former members of the Korean Women’s Volunteer Labor Corps during a press conference at the Gwangju City Council on July 23.

South Korean forced labor victims have moved to liquidate Mitsubishi Heavy Industry assets including two trademarks in South Korea.

In November 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court issued the final ruling in a lawsuit brought by five victims of forced labor, including 89-year-old Yang Geum-deok, against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries by ordering the company to pay each of the plaintiffs between 100 million and 150 million won (US$84,934-127,401) in compensation. But Mitsubishi has refused to resolve this issue through deliberations, leading the victims to move ahead with liquidation.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision, the legal team has proceeded with seizing Mitsubishi’s assets in South Korea. The six patents seized by the Daejeon District Court in March reportedly include patents related to power generation technology, while the two trademarks include the company’s new English logo “MHI.” The seized property doesn’t include the Mitsubishi emblem, which consists of three red diamonds.

South Korean forced labor victim Yang Geum-deok

The sale of the seized property will proceed according to the steps outlined in the Civil Execution Act. After assessing the seized property, the court will hold an auction. As soon as the successful bidders make the payment, the money will be transferred to the victims as part of their awarded damages. Once the trademark is liquidated, Mitsubishi will no longer be free to use its logo in South Korea.

“While Mitsubishi has been ignoring [the order to pay] damages, three of the elderly victims have passed away. That’s why we’re resorting to an asset sale in an attempt to compensate the victims,” said Kim Jeong-hui, a member of the victims’ legal team.

Mitsubishi has refused to settle this issue through deliberations and dialogue. In January and February, the NGO and the legal team for the victims officially requested deliberations. Then on June 22, members of a group supporting the lawsuit in Nagoya visited Mitsubishi’s main office in Tokyo and asked the company to indicate whether it would agree to participate in deliberations by July 15. But Mitsubishi used the press to communicate its position that it “doesn’t plan to respond” to the victims’ request for deliberations.

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This is the second time that South Korean victims of forced labor have asked the court to sell off the assets of a Japanese company guilty of committing war crimes. In October 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal had to pay 100 million won (US$84,934) each to 95-year-old Lee Chun-sik and three other plaintiffs who had sued it for damages, but the company ignored this ruling. On May 1, the victims responded by asking the Pohang branch of the Daegu District Court to sell off 194,794 shares (worth some 973 million won, or US$826,193) in South Korean company PNR owned by Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal. Currently, the court is questioning the company in regard to this request.

The issue was brought up by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during the daily press conference on Tuesday morning. “We’re concerned about continuing efforts [by the victims] to liquidate the assets of Japanese companies. We continue to strongly urge the South Korean government to take action,” Suga said.

By Jung Dae-ha, Gwangju correspondent, and Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]