Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "I ask the government to withdraw its unjust interference with the forced labor court, and to take the lead in protecting the victims and restoring their rights."
Rep. Lee said on his Facebook page, "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a war criminal company, is delaying the recovery of victims' rights as they continue to delay compensation for forced labor.
On the 26th of last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it is making 'multilateral diplomatic efforts' to resolve the problem by submitting an opinion to the Supreme Court, which is hearing the case of special cashization orders for trademark and patent rights of the victims of forced labor by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries & Construction Corp.
It is reported that Mitsubishi also submitted a written opinion to the court asking the court to withhold the final judgment, citing the diplomatic efforts of the South Korean government authorities in relation to the case.
"In a situation where the Japanese government and companies are wasting time without acknowledging their responsibilities, our government has provided a basis for evading responsibility on the grounds of 'diplomatic resolution'," said lawmaker Lee.
He also emphasized, "Where is the public who will not agree to create a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship?"
Rep. Lee said, "Furthermore, the provision on the basis of submission of opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was made at the time of the Park Geun-hye administration, but even at that time, there were criticisms of 'intervention in the judgment of forced labor'."