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Lee Chun-sik (right), a survivor of forced labor during the Japanese colonial occupation, following a Supreme Court ruling saying Nippon Steel needs to compensate forced labor victims on Oct. 30, 2019. (Hankyoreh archives)

I am a representative for the plaintiffs in a lawsuit demanding damages from Nippon Steel -- that is to say, victims of forced labor mobilization. I recently met with Lee Chun-sik, the only surviving plaintiff from the Supreme Court ruling in October 2018. While this is surely also true for Japan, there have been reports for days on end recently in South Korea about the decision to seize Nippon Steel assets. The first creditor listed in that confiscation decision is Lee Chun-sik. I had been concerned about how he must be feeling about so much happening because of a document with his name written on it.

Mr. Lee had concerns about the world, but he was more concerned about himself as he nears his 100th birthday. He is worried about the lack of any changes nearly two full years after his long legal battle ended with a ruling in his favor. I apologized about the delayed process and asked him to stay in good health and wait a little longer. I then asked him another question: “What do you think you will do when Nippon Steel comes to you and apologizes?”

“They need to come with a package. If they come with a package and apologize, I’ll say, ‘Thank you. Well done.’”

By “package,” he was referring to compensation. I did not immediately understand. I asked him again about his feelings and use of the word “thank.”

“I’ll be grateful if they come and visit me without forgetting about how much I’ve struggled. It wouldn’t be salary -- it would be compensation for slavery, and I’d be grateful if they even come bearing such compensation.”

Terms like “forced mobilization,” “forced conscription,” and “conscripted workers” have been used, but at its root this was slavery. As the Asia-Pacific War was reaching its height in the 1940s, militarist Japan treated young Koreans as slaves in munitions factories to supply war materials. This was the life of Koreans at Nippon Steel in the 1940s -- something recognized not just by South Korean courts, but by a court in Japan:

“They were under military regulations from waking until sleeping. No personal activities were recognized, and leaving work was strictly forbidden, with [workers] subjected to harsh, life-threatening punishments if they were viewed as having fled. [. . .] No salary was specified, and [workers] were given only a very small amount, having been presented with a kind of bankbook and unilaterally told to make deposits.” (Osaka District Court sentencing, Mar. 27, 2001, Case No. 13134, Heisei year 9)

Japanese steel works were a setting for slavery, where workers were unable to quit or leave, never mind being paid for their labor. The young people working there would not begin to request compensation for their slave labor until they were senior citizens, and after many years they finally won their legal battle. They fought in court for 13 years with the help of the Republic of Korea’s top jurists, but after losing its case, Nippon Steel has been hiding behind the Japanese government and refusing to comply with the ruling. As the CEO, you are surely even more aware than anyone of the many conflicts that have erupted between South Korea and Japan since then. It has often been characterized as a “disagreement over liquidation” -- but for the victims, this is a matter of slave wages.

I see no other means of resolving this conflict but for Nippon Steel to comply with the ruling. I am also aware of how difficult it will be to turn Japan from its position maintaining that the Supreme Court ruling was in violation of international law and that all matters were resolved with the Claims Settlement Agreement in 1965. Under the current situation, even the avenue of Nippon Steel and other accused companies in forced labor mobilization cases contacting the victims to initiate small discussions has been closed off.

But the forced labor of Koreans is a part of the history that led to Nippon Steel becoming what it is today. This is an undeniable fact. No one from Nippon Steel has yet apologized for this. It is an embarrassment when one considers its stature as a global business battling for third or fourth place among the world’s steel companies. Moreover, nowhere in the 1965 Claims Settlement Agreement is there any contact restricting acknowledgment of the facts or expressions of apology. Most crucially, the number of surviving victims awaiting an apology is very few. As time passes, there will be no one left for Nippon Steel to apologize to.

You should take the first step and apologize. That message is ultimately the reason that I wrote this. Tell a nearly 100-year-old man, in all sincerity, that you have not forgotten the suffering of his younger years. An apology alone cannot be said to constitute complete compliance with the court’s ruling. What is clear, however, is that amid the escalating conflict, we can start over with a truly different relationship once the CEO of Nippon Steel has done what can be done right now -- namely apologized.

By Lim Jae-sung, attorney and sociologist

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