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International relations

South Korea court greenlights seizure of Nippon Steel shares

Escalation in wartime labor issue further dents bilateral relations

A Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal works in Japan's Chiba Prefecture. The steelmaker faces the seizure of some of its shares in a South Korean joint venture.
A Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal works in Japan's Chiba Prefecture. The steelmaker faces the seizure of some of its shares in a South Korean joint venture.   © Photo by Kotaro Igarashi

SEOUL/TOKYO -- A South Korean court has granted a request to confiscate assets held by Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal on behalf of South Koreans forced to work there during World War II, it was learned Tuesday.

The Daegu District Court's Pohang branch approved a request to seize about 81,000 of the Japanese company's shares in a local joint venture with South Korea's leading steelmaker, Posco. Nippon Steel was ordered by the Supreme Court in October to compensate the South Korean former workers and can challenge the new ruling, which the plaintiffs' side said was dated last Thursday.

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