By Chung Min-uck
Pressure is mounting on Seoul as Korean nationals forced into labor during the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945) are having a hard time seeking compensation due to a lack of evidence.
This follows the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last week demanding Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate a Korean victim of forced labor.
“The government has been officially requesting Tokyo provide a list of Koreans forced to work in Japan since 2005,”said an official from the Commission on Verification and Support for the Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Colonialism, an affiliate of the Prime Minister’s Office, on condition of anonymity, Tuesday. “The Japanese government needs to send the entire list of Korean victims for verification.”
According to the commission, 226,000 Koreans are registered as being forced to either work for Japanese companies or conscripted to Japan’s wartime army during the colonial era. Among them, only 23,670 people were able to receive compensation from the Korean government as the rest of the victims didn’t have any record of forced labor or conscription. The ones who were verified as victims were given 2,000 Korean won for every Japanese yen Imperial Japan owed them.
Seoul, like Tokyo, adheres to the position that all compensation in regard to the issue was completed under the Korea-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement in 1965 where Seoul agreed not to demand additional compensation for damages incurred during the colonial era in return for $800 million. This makes Seoul responsible for the compensation.
“Our government is having a hard time compensating the victims as Japan is hesitant in providing the list,”said the official. “If the government is able to acquire the entire list it will also help plaintiffs hold Japanese firms responsible for their past exploitation.”
Until now, Tokyo has given names of around 160,000 forced laborers and soldiers out of an alleged 3 million.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel Corp have not responded to the ruling despite calls to have their properties in Korea seized in lieu of payment.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is showing no signs of immediate action, sticking to the long-held position that the issue was resolved through the 1965 Treaty between Seoul and Tokyo, shifting the onus to the individual level.