Elderly victim of Japan's wartime forced labor Lee Chun-sik has called off a meeting with foreign minister Park Jin scheduled for Saturday.

The foreign ministry said Friday the meeting was to take place in the southern city of Gwangju but has been postponed at Lee's request.

The ministry said it will continue efforts to meet with forced labor victims one after another to explain the government's compensation plan and seek their understanding.

Lee's lawyers who led a related Supreme Court case said the family decided to cancel the meeting as they were overwhelmed by media coverage.
It is not yet clear whether the meeting is completely canceled or rescheduled.

If the Saturday meeting went through, it would have marked the first case of a plaintiff who openly rejected the government's compensation plan agreeing to meet with a foreign ministry official. Lee is one of three such victims who openly protested the plan. The other two earlier refused to meet with Park.