hankyoreh

2010. (Jeong Dae-ha

By Jung Dae-ha, Gwangju correspondent

“Did you know that Nikon Camera is a product of a war criminal company that drafted the most Koreans for forced labor?”

Nikon is a Mitsubishi affiliate that specializes in optical equipment. Nikon has the second largest market share of DSLR cameras in Korea following Canon. Rep. Lee Myeong-su of the Advancement Unification Party said that Mitsubishi is one of the 299 war criminal companies confirmed through documents received on three occasions by the Commission on Verification and Support for the Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Colonization, a special committee under the Prime Minister’s Office. According to the documents, Mitsubishi drafted 100 thousand Koreans for forced labor.

The Citizens’ Group for Forcible Conscripted Woman Laborers (representatives Kim Seon-ho and Kim Hui-yong) held a press conference at the Gwangju City Council on Sept. 26 and declared, “A national movement to boycott war criminal company Mitsubishi’s products,” and began a signature drive with the goal of at least 100 thousand names. The group will also hold an online rally every Friday.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in May 1944 took 300 young girls aged 13 to 15 including Yang Geum-duk, 84 (now residing in Gwangju) to work for the Chosun Women Laborers Corps. They were taken to an airplane parts factory in Nagoya, Japan where they did hard labor for no compensation. They are yet to receive an apology from the company.

In 2008 the High Court of Japan dismissed the victims’ compensation claim. A citizens group was formed in the same year to begin a signature drive to pressure the company. After 100 thousand signatures were collected, the company agreed to begin negotiations in November of 2011, but the talks fell apart.

The Citizens’ Group is calling for a boycott on products from three affiliates including Nikon, Kirin beer and Mitsubishi Motors. Kirin Beer has joined with Korea’s Hite Beer and is trying to expand its presence in the Korean beer market.

Lee Kuk-un, secretary general of the group, said that in addition to the boycott of products, “a limitation must be set so that Mitsubishi cannot bid to provide equipment for our power plants.”

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