Forced labor victims don't want delay in ruling

A victim of Japanese forced labor, Yang Geum-deok, speaks at a press conference in Gwangju on July 27. [NEWS1]

Victims of Japanese forced labor recently submitted a statement to the Supreme Court to ask for a swift ruling on the liquidation of Japanese corporate assets, according to their attorney.

The attorney for plaintiffs Yang Geum-deok and Kim Sung-ju, victims of forced labor, submitted a statement last Thursday to the Supreme Court emphasizing the need for prompt liquidation of the assets in question.

Their statement disagrees with an argument submitted by the Foreign Ministry to the court on July 26 asking it to consider the ministry’s efforts to reach a diplomatic solution with Japan on the issue of compensation for Koreans forced to work during World War II before it rules on the case.

The case dates to a landmark Korean Supreme Court ruling on Oct. 30, 2018 ordering Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, renamed Nippon Steel, to pay 100 million won ($76,350) each to Korean victims of Japanese forced labor during World War II. It made a similar ruling on Nov. 29, 2018 against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Korea’s top court acknowledged the illegality of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule and recognized that the individuals' rights to compensation had not expired.

Japan has protested the decisions, claiming that all compensation issues related to its colonial rule were resolved with a 1965 treaty normalizing bilateral relations.

Both Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi refused to comply with the top court's decisions, leading to a drawn-out legal process, a move that escalated tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.

Upon its inauguration in May, the Yoon Suk-yeol government pledged to improve ties with Japan.

Tokyo has repeatedly stressed that resolving the compensation rulings is a prerequisite for improving relations with Korea.

Some victims of forced labor saw the Foreign Ministry’s submission of its argument last month as an act of betrayal.

“We think that the ministry in its written opinion to the Supreme Court asked the court to withhold ruling on the case,” said a member of a victims’ group in a press conference hosted in Seoul on Aug. 3. “That act has broken the relationship based on trust between the victims [and the government].”

Speaking with the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, Lee Kuk-eon, who leads a civic group in Korea supporting victims of forced labor, said that many of the victims do not want the ruling to be delayed.

“Four years have passed since the Supreme Court's decision in 2018, and the situation seems to be worsening rather than getting closer to a resolution," Lee said. "So from the victims' perspective, there is really no desire to wait any longer.”

BY JEONG JIN-WOO, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]