Gov't offices under Yoon accused of interfering in law firm selection process for compensation case
Published: 15 Oct. 2025, 14:25
![The Sado Mine complex in Nigata Prefecture, Japan, on Nov. 24, 2024 [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/15/0efbd9a0-9ec9-4b3e-a99a-1ebe135ef126.jpg)
The Sado Mine complex in Nigata Prefecture, Japan, on Nov. 24, 2024 [NEWS1]
The presidential office under former President Yoon Suk Yeol and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are facing allegations that they unlawfully interfered in the process of choosing a law firm for a government-affiliated foundation managing compensation for victims of Japan’s wartime forced labor.
According to documents obtained by Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Lee In-young of the National Policy Committee, the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan — a public body under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety — signed legal consulting contracts with two law firms, Shin & Kim and Barun, after the Yoon administration unveiled a third-party compensation plan in March 2023.
The plan allowed a Korean foundation to pay damages on behalf of Japanese companies found liable for forced labor during Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of Korea. Some victims rejected the plan, arguing that it absolved the Japanese firms, including Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which had been ordered by Korean courts to compensate them. For those who refused payment, the foundation deposited the court-ordered damages on their behalf.
Both Shin & Kim and Barun initially advised the foundation on how to implement the plan. But just before court deposits began in July 2023, the foundation ended its contract with Shin & Kim and handed the work solely to Barun.
![Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/15/44e8da21-6e61-49d5-a0f3-fa8eec73e633.jpg)
Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NEWS1]
During a meeting on July 14, 2023, led by foundation Chair Shim Kyu-seon, the head of the foundation’s fund management team reportedly said this decision reflected the intention of the Foreign Ministry and "Yongsan” — a reference to the presidential office.
In a transcript of the meeting secured by Rep. Lee, the official said, “Both Shin & Kim and Barun are involved [in the project], but the Foreign Ministry and Yongsan have decided that Shin & Kim should be removed,” adding, “The Foreign Ministry is now saying that Barun alone should handle the court deposit matter.”
Such intervention may constitute a violation of the Act on the Management of Public Institutions, which guarantees the autonomy of public institutions to ensure responsible management. Article 3 of the act states that the government shall guarantee autonomous operation of such institutions.
![Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, sheds tears as she is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/15/b77dc42b-2e33-4a4d-a8a9-dffb2f0505ba.jpg)
Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, sheds tears as she is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NEWS1]
“There is no legal basis for the presidential office or the Foreign Ministry to meddle in the foundation’s contracting process,” Lee said. “Their directives were clearly unwarranted and potentially were unlawful interference.”
Lee further argued that the Office of the President and the Foreign Ministry may be guilty of abuse of power. “We must investigate whether this constitutes obstruction of the foundation’s legal duty to resist unlawful orders under the State Public Officials Act,” he said, calling for an audit and criminal probe.
The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission responded to Lee's inquiry, saying, “If a public official is asked to appoint a specific person, group or firm to a contract in violation of the law or in excess of their legal authority, and that request leads to an illegal act, it may constitute improper solicitation.”
![Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/15/9c5ef822-3501-4d9c-928a-9cfec6787734.jpg)
Yang Geum-deok, a survivor of forced labor under the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and a longtime advocate for the rights of other survivors, is awarded the Moran Medal, the second-highest rank of the Order of Civil Merit, on Aug. 2 in Gwangju. [NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA]
“I don’t recall the details well enough to answer,” said a foundation official, when asked about the details of the situation.
Minister of the Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung said during a parliamentary audit Tuesday that allegations the foundation submitted court documents with forged seals have been “confirmed to be true.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HA JUN-HO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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