Forced Laborers

[Anchor Lead]

Among Japanese companies, Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation mobilized the largest number of Korean women as laborers during World War Two. It conscripted some 1,600 female laborers across the nation. Gwangju and Jellanam-do Province are home to roughly 300 victims. A number Japanese people have supported Korean female victims forced into wartime labor for nearly three decades, and they have now made a visit to Gwangju City in South Korea. Here is more.

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During the Japanese colonial rule of Korea, Oh Kyung-ae went to Japan believing in a deceptive promise that she could study there. However, she ended up in a munitions factory in Toyama, which was owned by Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation. A welcome guest visited Oh. It is Miyuki Nakagawa whom she first met when she filed a lawsuit against Nachi-Fujikoshi Corporation in 2014. Soon after exchanging greetings, Oh complained about slow progress in the suit.

[Soundbite] Oh Kyung-ae(Forced Labor Victim) : "I hope that the issue will be settled. Is it that difficult? Can you make a little more effort in Japan?"

The elderly woman expressed gratitude to the Japanese visitors who have paid continued attention to the lawsuit dragging on for more than three years.

[Soundbite] Oh Kyung-ae(Forced Labor Victim) : "I am grateful. I really appreciate their help."

Miyuki Nakagawa is a member of a Japanese civic group called the Hokuriku Committee, which publicly raised the issue of Nachi-Fujikoshi's wartime forced labor. It is calling on the Japanese government to apologize and compensate victims.

[Soundbite] Miyuki Nakagawa(Hokuriku Committee) : "I hope that the victims will receive compensation while they are alive."

An appeals trial on the compensation suit against the Japanese company will be held at the Seoul High Court on January 30th.