South Korea’s state arms procurement agency had dealings with Japanese firms accused of involvement in mobilizing Koreans for forced labor during the 1910-45 colonial rule, a lawmaker said Thursday, calling for barring such firms from military supply contracts.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration purchased 55 sets of binoculars worth 428 million won ($383,316) from Nikon, one of the companies of the Mitsubishi Group, in 2009, Rep. Kim Jae-yun of the main opposition United Democratic Party said.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is one of 299 Japanese companies currently in operation with records of involvement in the forced labor, according to government data announced in August.
Others on the list include Nissan Motors Co. and Hitachi.
Kim also said the arms agency purchased seven videoscopes worth 270 million won in 2007 and 2009 from Olympus, a Japanese firm that provided backing for right-wing textbooks accused of glorifying the country’s wartime past.
“Is it in line with the people’s sentiment to have military supply contracts with Nikon, which is a subsidiary firm of the Mitsubish Group ... and Olympus which supports right-wing textbooks?” the lawmaker said, calling for a measure to restrict the participation of such firms in government contracts. (Yonhap News)
