Korea to announce 3rd-party solution to forced labor issue

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 13:18

Foreign Affairs

Korea to announce 3rd-party solution to forced labor issue

Posted : 2023-03-05 16:39

Updated : 2023-03-05 16:40

Activists lay flowers in front of a statue symbolizing the victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, in Seoul, March 1, Independence Movement Day. The Korean government is expected to announce its solution to settle a dispute with Japan over the issue on Monday. Yonhap

Japan refuses to compensate victims, but agrees to join fund to improve relations

By Jung Min-ho

Korea will announce its solution to settle a dispute over wartime forced labor caused by Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule on Monday as part of a diplomatic deal to restore the two countries' relations after nearly five years of tensions.

According to government sources and Japanese media reports, Sunday, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel ― the Japanese companies ordered in 2018 by the Supreme Court here to compensate South Korean victims of slave labor ― will not pay damages. Instead, they are expected to contribute to a fund set up to improve relations between the two countries.

The Future Youth Fund, which is likely to be co-created by the Federation of Korean Industries, Korea's big-business lobby group, and its counterpart the Japan Business Federation, will use the generated money to sponsor student exchange programs.

Foreign Minister Park Jin is expected to announce the details of the agreement.

The deal, however, will almost certainly draw criticism from the victims, who have been demanding direct compensation and apologies from the Japanese companies, which, along with the Japanese government, have maintained that the issue was settled as part of the two countries' 1965 treaty. Under the agreement, Tokyo provided Seoul with $300 million (388 billion won) in grants and $200 million in loans as a way of paying back Korea after occupying it for 35 years.

The compensation will instead come from the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan, which was established in 2014 to raise donations from Korean companies that had benefited from the 1965 treaty, such as POSCO.

How the Japanese government will react to the decision is less clear. According to the Asahi Shimbun and the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Fumio Kishida administration may suggest that President Yoon Suk Yeol hold a summit in Tokyo and issue a statement to succeed the 1998 joint declaration in which Japan apologizes for the immense pains and damage it caused to the people of Korea during its occupation. The Japanese government also plans to lift restrictions on some tech material exports to Korea and restore its status as one of its trusted trade partners on its "whitelist."

Moreover, the two countries are considering resuming the past bilateral practice in which their leaders regularly visited each other's country, typically once a year.

National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han speaks to the press at Incheon International Airport before leaving for bilateral security talks with the U.S. in Washington, D.C., Sunday. Yonhap

Speaking to reporters before leaving for bilateral security talks between Korea and the United States in Washington, D.C., National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han said the two East Asian nations are in talks over how to help the young generations in their countries unleash their full potential. If the relationship is to be future-oriented, they should focus on young people, he added.

The relationship between the two countries has been the subject of great interest in Washington, which seeks to strengthen security ties among its allies and partners under its Indo-Pacific strategy ― a strategic term adopted by most U.S. allies to replace the previous "Asia-Pacific" angle in order to "surround" and counter threats from China. "The U.S. has paid keen attention to the matters over Korea-Japan relations, offering support to improve them," Kim said.

At the upcoming meetings, Kim and his U.S. counterpart will discuss issues regarding security challenges facing both countries, including nuclear threats from Pyongyang.

During his March 1 Independence Movement address, President Yoon said the partnership with Japan in the area of security has become more important than ever before amid a new, rapidly shifting geopolitical situation. Japan has "transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us," he said.

Yet the president's rapprochement effort has been challenged by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which is determined to reject any solutions other than direct compensation from the Japanese companies and government and their sincere apologies.

"Why do we have to take this humiliating approach? … This is pathetic," Rep. Park Sung-joon, DPK spokesman, said in a statement after media reports about the forthcoming third-party solution announcement. "The DPK and the people will continue to demand Japan compensate and make sincere apologies (to the victims)."

mj6c2@koreatimes.co.kr