Description
Nippon Steel Corporation is Japan's largest steelmaker, headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
The company has four business segments, including steelmaking, engineering, chemicals, and system solutions. It is the largest producer of crude steel in Japan and the third largest in the world. The original cooperation was established in 1970 by the merger of Fuji Iron & Steel and Yawata Iron & Steel.
On October 30, 2018, the South Korean Supreme Court rejected appeals to overturn a 2013 order requiring Nippon to pay compensation to four South Korean workers who underwent forced labor which occurred during World War II and ordered Nippon to pay each of the workers an individual sum of 100 million won (US$87,700). The four surviving steel workers, who were victims of forced labor which was supervised by Sumitomo, originally filed suit in 2005. A Nippon spokesman called the decision "deeply regretful," while also promising a review of the ruling. The Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono maintained that the matter "has been resolved following the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea".
The asset seizure ordered by the Korean supreme court involves Nippon's stake in PNR, the POSCO-Nippon joint venture.
