Korea relaunches hunt for assets accumulated by pro-Japanese collaborators
Sixteen years after winding down, Korea’s Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators’ Property will restart operations this December to examine and seize assets illegally amassed during Japan's occupation of Korea. The commission’s reactivation follows the scheduled enforcement of the Special Act on Asset Confiscation for Pro-Japanese and Anti-national Collaborators to the State on Dec. 3. The law targets wealth and property accumulated through cooperation with Japanese imperial forces during the 1910–1945 colonial period. Korea's renewed asset search is underscored by a stark, enduring socio-economic divide. Studies show nearly three-quarters of the descendants of independence activists live in low-income households, with many relying on state welfare — giving painful weight to the adage that "three generations are ruined by fighting for independence, while three generations prosper through collaboration." The special legislation was enacted to address a legal void after the first investigative commission was disbanded in 2010, just four years after its establishm
