S. Korea freezes Japan company assets over forced labor spat A South Korean court has decided to freeze the local assets of a Japanese company involved in compensation disputes for wartime Korean laborers

SEOUL, South Korea -- A South Korean court has decided to freeze the local assets of a Japanese company involved in compensation disputes for wartime Korean laborers.

Last year, South Korea's top court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won ($88,000) each to four plaintiffs forced to work for the company when Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.

The Daegu District Court said Tuesday it had approved a request by lawyers for the plaintiffs to seize Korean assets held by the Japanese company as it was refusing to compensate the former laborers.

Japan maintains all colonial-era compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty between the governments.

The Japanese company holds 2.34 million shares, or around $9.7 million, in its joint venture with a South Korean steelmaker.