1965 treaty leaves thorny issues unresolved

Former President Park Chung-hee, left, shakes hands with then Japanese Foreign Minister Shiina Etsusaburo during his visit to Cheong Wa Dae on May 18, 1965.
/ Korea Times file

By Do Je-hae

It has been half a century since the landmark Korea-Japan treaty that normalized diplomatic relations, but the discrepancy between the two countries on the settlement issue remains a major roadblock in bilateral relations.

A Dong-A Ilbo survey published on June 18 found that 89 percent of respondents think that Japan should readjust their position on wartime reparation. However, the Japanese government's longstanding position regarding colonial reparations is that they were "completely" settled through a 1965 bilateral pact.

Japan has refused to pay damages to individuals such as "comfort women" and forced laborers, saying it settled those issues on a government-to-government basis in the form of economic cooperation under the 1965 Korea-Japan Normalization Treaty.

What is the reason for the huge gap in the two countries' perception regarding wartime reparations?

Some Korean historians have underlined the ambiguity of the 1965 treaty as the root of all the bilateral headaches — the comfort women, forced laborers, territorial disputes and the pillage of cultural heritage — that have strained relations since the end of the war.

The 1965 pact has been at the very center of historical conflict between the two countries.

In 2005, declassified documents from the sixth and seventh meetings of the Korea-Japan normalization talks made headlines. On Jan. 17, Seoul released five volumes —around 1,800 pages — of documents containing the details of the negotiations.

The Japanese government has claimed that under the treaty, Korea had agreed not to make additional compensation demands against Japan after receiving $800 million in grants and soft loans from Tokyo as compensation for its 1910-45 colonial rule. Japan defined the fund as "economic assistance" and a "congratulatory gesture for Korea's independence."

Korea devoted most of Japan's assistance for economic development plans, including the establishment of POSCO and the Gyeongbu Expressway. The government paid 300,000 won per death in compensating victims of forced labor between 1975 and 1977.

The Korean government did not start to properly research the victims of Japanese colonial rule until 2005 through establishing a committee of officials and experts.
"The Korean government has the duty to explain in sincerity to the people about the deal," said Chang Pak-jin, a researcher at Kookmin University. "This is the first step in helping the victims."

Relevant organizations, such as the Association of Pacific War Victims, have demanded a clear explanation from the government on how they used the earnings from Japan.

Many Koreans believe that despite the 1965 pact, individual claims against Japan are still possible.
In 2011, the Supreme Court recognized wartime reparation demands against two

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Japanese companies by Korean nationals who were forced into wartime labor. It was the first ruling to admit the validity of suits seeking damages for forced labor.
The Supreme Court stressed that Japan illegally occupied the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, and its ruling stated that the 1965 pact between Tokyo and Seoul did not invalidate Koreans' right to seek wartime compensation.

Despite lingering controversies, Korean negotiators underlined the positive outcomes of the treaty.
"I think that the diplomatic officials did a good job," said the late Lee Tong-won, a foreign minister at the time of the signing of the treaty, in a previous KBS interview.

In a 2005 NHK documentary, Kim Jong-pil, the former Central Intelligence Agency director who served as a key negotiator in the final years of the normalization talks, said that former President Park Chung-hee believed that normal relations with Japan was indispensable for "Korea's modernization and industrialization."

It was the one of the rare occasions that Kim spoke publicly about the Korea-Japan pact.

"At the time, the treaty was the best we could do," Kim said in fluent Japanese.

"As a result of the treaty, Korea-Japan relations were normalized, laying the foundation for Korea's growth into an economic power from one of the poorest countries."

Chronology

Korea-Japan Normalization talks (1952-65)

First meeting (March 5-April 21, 1952)
The first major meeting took place after preliminary discussions organized by the Tokyo Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers (SCAP headquarters).
Negotiations were halted when Japan demanded the return of Japanese property in Korea.

Second meeting (April 15-July 23, 1953)
Negotiations were deadlocked over fisheries agreements. The talks concluded without any tangible outcome just before the signing of the Korean War Armistice Treaty.

Third meeting (Oct. 6-Oct. 21, 1953)
Talks were halted after chief Japanese delegate Kubota Kanichiro said Japan's colonial rule (1910-45) was beneficial for Korea.

The Korean delegation for normalization talks with Japan departs for Tokyo on Aug. 11, 1959 at Yeouido Airport in Seoul.

Fourth meeting (April 1958-April 1960)
Due to disagreements during preliminary meetings over claims and fisheries agreements, official talks were not held.

Fifth meeting (Oct. 25, 1960-May 15, l961)
The new Chang Myon administration attempted to resume talks, but the military coup d'etat on May 16 interrupted the negotiations.

Sixth meeting (Oct. 1961-April 1964)
Japan agreed to provide $300 million grant in economic aid; $200 million in loans; $300 million in loans for private trust as "economic cooperation" and "congratulatory gesture for Korea's independence."
Talks are temporarily ceased due to violent domestic demonstrations by Korean students on June 3, 1964.

Seventh meeting (Dec. 3, 1964-June 22, 1965)
The Korea-Japan Basic Treaty, claims and other supplementary agreements (fisheries, claims issues involving property rights and other legal issues, and the status of Koreans in Japan) were signed and officially sealed in Tokyo on June 22, 1965. The treaty went into effect through an exchange of ratifications on Dec. 18, 1965.

University students protest against the Korea-Japan Basic Treaty on June 29, 1965 in the vicinity of Korea University in Sinseol-dong, Seoul.

Key text of the treaty:
Article II
The High Contracting Parties confirm that the problems concerning property, rights, and interests of the two High Contracting Parties and their peoples (including juridical persons) and the claims between the High Contracting Parties and between their peoples, including those stipulated in Article IV(a) of the Peace Treaty with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, have been settled completely and finally.

Kim Jong-pil, Korea's main negotiator in the final stages of the normalization talks, meets reporters during a visit to Tokyo in 1964. / Korea Times file