Eight Koreans living in the United States Tuesday filed a class suit with a Los Angeles court against two Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Mitsui, demanding compensation for their forced labor in Mitsubishi coal mines and Mitsui shipyards before and during World War II.

In a press conference, Barry Fischer, the lawyer who represents Kwon Oh-hon, 81, and seven other plaintiffs, said that anyone who was forcibly taken to workplaces run by the two Japanese firms between 1929 and 1945 will be able to join the class action.

Fischer, who successfully led the legal battle against the German government for victims of the Nazi regime, stressed the suit is especially meaningful since it is the first class suit seeking indemnity for Korean victims who suffered under Japanese colonial rule.

Kwon and the seven other plaintiffs were forcibly taken to shipyards and coal mines in Japan during World War II.

According to the written complaint filed with the Los Angeles County Court, the companies forced over 4,000 Koreans to work under severe conditions which included beatings and death threats.