Consultations between gov't, forced labor victims hit snag

Victims of Japan's wartime forced labor hold a rally to denounce the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council, Aug. 2, claiming the ministry submitted its opinion to the Supreme Court to postpone the court's decision to liquidate the assets of Japanese companies involved in forced labor. Newsis

Experts say gov't should continue efforts to uphold victims' interests

By Nam Hyun-woo

A government-led consultative body consisting of authorities, experts and victims of Japan's wartime forced labor is dangerously close to running aground, as the victims have pulled themselves out of its meetings in protest against the government's stance of prioritizing diplomatic benefits over their hopes and aims.

Current negotiations are widely seen as the basis for the Yoon administration's efforts to improve relations, which soured after Tokyo tightened export controls against Seoul in protest after a court ruling here ordered Japanese companies to compensate the victims of forced labor.

As Seoul's Supreme Court is poised to make a decision on whether to liquidate the remaining assets of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Korea to compensate the victims, which Japan has been claiming as a "red line" that should not be crossed, as early as Aug. 19, the stalled negotiations are casting a gloomy outlook on governmental efforts to swiftly mend ties with Tokyo.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the consultative body held its third round of meetings, Tuesday, and participants have developed ideas for settling related disputes based on prior discussions.

Unlike two earlier meetings, however, victims and their legal representatives did not participate in the latest meeting, saying "the trust between the government and the victims has already been destroyed."

The Center for Historical Truth and Justice, a civic group representing the victims, claimed the foreign ministry had submitted its opinion to the Supreme Court on July 26 with "an intention to ask the court to postpone its decision" without any notice given to the victims. The foreign ministry said the opinion is not a subject to be disclosed, but added it does not contain any sensitive content.

The absence of the victims deals a hefty blow to one of the most likely scenarios that the government has been considering in order to resolve the issue ― the Korean government pays for the compensation instead of the Japanese government and collects the amount from the Japanese side.

According to sources, members of the consultative body explored ideas on this plan during the second meeting, which took place about a month ago. Since then, participants have reviewed the legal possibility of such a plan but come into deadlock over a question regarding whether the government can push forward with this plan even though some of the victims oppose it.

Against this backdrop, Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min has triggered a backlash from the victims due to his remarks on Monday that "the liquidation (of the Japanese companies' assets here) should be frozen" for the sake of Korea-Japan relations.

"We strongly condemn Yun's comments, which snubbed the rights of the victims," the civic group said in a statement, demanding Yun step down from the post.

With the situation becoming further aggravated, an official at the foreign ministry said, "It will be difficult for the body to hold additional meetings before Aug. 19," adding that "the ministry will make efforts to communicate with the victims."

"The approach should have been very delicate, considering the sentiment of the victims, but the government appears to have handled this matter with a bureaucratic approach," Choi Eun-mi, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, who is a member of the consultative body.

"The consultative body was launched in full awareness that negative responses may follow. However, it is a necessary process. The issue of forced labor is not confined to the victims and the companies. It is a matter that affects the relations between Korea and Japan. Due to this, there is a necessity to continue efforts to listen to various opinions from victims, businesses affected by the soured bilateral relations, researchers and the government."

Choi noted that if the Supreme Court hands down a liquidation order, the frayed bilateral relations will further worsen and the government will have no choice but to make "a certain decision" at some point to prevent this.

"There is an idealism and realism in handling Korea-Japan relations," she said. "The previous (Moon Jae-in) government tilted toward idealism by doing nothing to soothe Japan when the court ordered Japanese firms to compensate forced labor victims. … On the contrary, the consultative body is an effort to seek a grey area between the realistic goal of mending ties with Japan and the ideal goal of getting Japan's apology. In this process, the top priority should be taking a cautious stance not to bring further harm to the victims."