Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Hitachi Zosen exits Korea after forced labor ruling
The office of Hitachi Zosen Seoul branch in Mapo-gu, Seoul, sits empty on Sunday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
Hitachi Zosen, a Japanese industrial plant and machinery firm ordered to pay compensation to Koreans forced to work for it without pay during Japan's colonial rule, has closed its Korean unit, according to industry officials, Sunday.
When visited by The Korea Times, its Seoul branch office in Mapo-gu was empty, with a new paint job underway. A maintenance staffer of the building said the company left less than a month ago. The company's nameplate was still on the information desk, but the phone number listed on the internet was invalid.
The information of the Seoul branch was also removed from its website. The company had the Seoul branch on its April 1 organization chart, but has excluded the branch from the list of Hitachi Zosen Group companies.
Japan's Nihon Keijai Shinbum reported that the company's London and Seoul branches will be closed as part of the company's bid to focus on Southeast Asia.
Industry officials said the closure was in line with the escalating trade tension between Korea and Japan, after the latter launched export restrictions on materials for semiconductors earlier this month, which is an apparent retaliation to last year's Supreme Court rulings here against Japanese firms over forced labor during the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial period.
In a follow-up to the top court ruling, the Seoul High Court in January ordered Hitachi Zosen to pay 50 million won to a Korean plaintiff, surnamed Lee, for forcing him to work from September 1944 to August 1945.
Lee filed a suit against Hitachi Zosen in November 2014 demanding 120 million won in compensation for his forced labor.
Hitachi Zosen appealed a lower court ruling partially in favor of Lee, saying the period for compensation has expired, but the high court upheld the lower court's decision.
“It seems to be a move to avoid the court seizing its assets,” a Seoul-based lawyer said. “Korea is currently facing difficulties in liquidating assets collected from Japanese firms which were ordered to pay a huge amount of compensation in the Supreme Court ruling, because their current assets in Korea are mostly stocks and patents.”
In the Supreme Court ruling in October, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal were ordered to pay 400 million won ($350,000) in compensation to each of the victims of wartime forced labor.