Seoul to compensate Japan's forced labor victims, latter slam plan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Mar 2023 08:33
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The fund would attempt to reimburse Koreans who obtained compensation in litigation against Japanese corporations that enslaved them during Tokyo's 35-year colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.

Victims of wartime forced labor during the Japanese colonial period during an anti-Japan protest on Liberation Day in South Korea, August 15, 2019 (Reuters)

South Korea unveiled plans on Monday to pay victims of Japan's forced labor during WWII, intending to break a "vicious cycle" in Asian relations and boost ties between the two countries.

Japan and the United States immediately rushed to welcome the announcement, but victims criticized it as it falls well short of their demand for a comprehensive apology from Tokyo and direct compensation from the Japanese corporations implicated.

Seoul and Tokyo have already increased security cooperation, but bilateral ties have long been strained due to Tokyo's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

According to Seoul figures, Japan conscripted around 780,000 Koreans into forced labor throughout the 35-year occupation, not including women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.

Foreign Minister Park Jin stated that Seoul's goal is to collect money from key South Korean corporations that benefited from a 1965 reparations agreement with Tokyo and use it to recompense victims.

The hope is that Japan will "positively respond to our major decision today with Japanese companies' voluntary contributions and a comprehensive apology," he added.

"I believe that the vicious circle should be broken for the sake of the people at the national interest level," Park added.

Tokyo maintains that the 1965 treaty, which saw the two countries reestablish diplomatic ties with a reparations package totaling roughly $800 million in grants and low-interest loans, resolved all disputes dating to the colonial period.

But Tokyo's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi hailed the new plan, telling reporters it would help to restore "healthy" ties following years of tensions.

The President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to visit Tokyo shortly, possibly for a baseball game between Japan and South Korea this week, according to Japanese media.

The White House praised a "groundbreaking new chapter of cooperation and partnership between two of the United States' closest allies," as per a statement.

Analysts, however, said the announcement's significance "will be assessed in large part by what Japan does next," according to Benjamin A. Engel, research professor at Seoul National University's Institute of International Affairs.

"Without these steps by the Japanese side, the announcement by the Korean government will not amount to much," he said.

Meanwhile, Seoul's Foreign Minister Park claimed the plan had the support of many victims' families, adding Seoul would "see them one by one and consult with them and seek their understanding sincerely".

South Korea and Japan are both important regional security partners for the US, but bilateral ties have long been strained due to Tokyo's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

In this context, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday applauded plans announced by South Korea to compensate victims of Japan's forced wartime labor.

South Korea and Japan are "two of the United States' most important allies, and we are inspired by the work they have done to advance their bilateral relations," the Secretary of State said in a statement.

The trilateral relationship is "central to our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region," he added.

"We applaud (Seoul and Tokyo) for their courage and vision, and call on the international community to join our commendation of this momentous achievement."

It is worth noting that Washington has exerted strained efforts to bring the countries together to solidify their alliance against China, which they identified as a mutual "threat".