South Korea announced on Monday a plan to compensate its citizens who suffered forced labor imposed by Japan during the war, a move to improve bilateral relations that has sparked controversy.
South Korea and Japan are key U.S. allies in the region, but their bilateral relations are strained by Tokyo’s brutal colonial rule between 1910 and 1945 on the Korean peninsula.
According to South Korean records, approximately 780,000 Koreans were forced into forced labor during the Japanese occupation. This register does not include women subjected to sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers.
The Seoul government’s new plan is to use a local foundation to collect donations from South Korean companies that took advantage of Japan’s 1965 recovery package to compensate victims.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he hoped Japan would respond “positively” to the decision and that there would be a voluntary contribution from Japanese companies.
“Korea-Japan cooperation is very important in all fields from diplomacy to economics and security amid the dire international situation and complex global crisis”Park said.
This new plan offers the opportunity to “create a new history for Korea and Japan, overcome contradictions and conflicts to move forward,” the official added.
Japan appreciates South Korean ad
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said his government “appreciates” the South Korean announcement as a way to “restore healthy relations”, but also hinted that Japan will not make any further apologies on the matter.
Tokyo insists a 1965 treaty, under which the two countries re-established diplomatic relations with a reparations package of $800 million in grants and loans, resolved all colonial-era claims.
The White House celebrated “a revolutionary new chapter of cooperation and partnership” between the two countries.
Similarly, US chief of diplomacy Antony Blinken applauded the plan, saying he was “inspired by the work (both countries) have done to strengthen their bilateral relations”.
The Japanese press previously reported that companies in the country could make donations to the foundation.
However, that plan has drawn criticism from victim groups, who are demanding financial compensation and an immediate apology from the Japanese companies involved.
In 2018, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered some Japanese companies to pay compensation for forced labor during the occupation. “The significance of today’s announcement will largely be measured by what Japan does next,” said Benjamin A. Engel, an academic at Seoul National University.
Disputes between the two countries have long revolved around the issue of sexual slavery during World War II.
According to historians, up to 200,000 women – mostly Korean – were forced into prostitution in Japanese military brothels.
Source: DN
