[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Nobuyuki Suzuki (56), a Japanese national who was prosecuted in 2013 for committing a stake attack on the comfort women statue, did not appear in court again. Since his indictment in 2013, he has failed to appear in court 20 times.
On the 9th, Judge Hong Changwoo of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 1 held a trial for Suzuki, who was charged with defamation and other offenses, but the trial was postponed due to Suzuki's absence.
Suzuki is accused of damaging the honor of the surviving victims by tying a stake inscribed with "Takeshima is Japanese territory" to the comfort women statue in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in June 2012. He is also accused of sending packages containing insulting models of the comfort women statue to the War and Women's Human Rights Museum in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and the House of Sharing, a shelter for former Japanese military comfort women in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, in May 2015.
However, since being prosecuted in February 2013, Suzuki has ignored a total of 20 court summonses.
The court expressed regret over the delay caused by the defendant's absence, stating, "The next trial will be scheduled once the related materials arrive," and urged, "The prosecution should continue to pay attention to the request for extradition of the criminal."
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