Wartime forced labor victim accepts third-party compensation after long holdout
Yang Geum-deok, an elderly victim of forced labor during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule, accepted the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s “third-party reimbursement” plan on Wednesday.
According to the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization by Imperial Japan, which operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Yang, 96, received compensation and the delayed interest from the foundation according to the Supreme Court’s final ruling.
The third-party reimbursement plan involves the foundation paying the compensation and delayed interest on behalf of the defendant companies to forced labor victims who won compensation rights in the Supreme Court.
In a landmark ruling on Oct. 30, 2018, the Korean Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel to pay 100 million won ($72,420) to Korean victims of Japanese forced labor. The Supreme Court ruled similarly on Nov. 29, 2018, against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Japan protested the decision, claiming that all compensation issues related to its colonial rule were resolved with a treaty with Korea in 1965. Korea’s top court acknowledged the illegality of Japan’s 1919-45 colonial rule and recognized that individuals’ rights to compensation had not expired.
Both Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi refused to comply with the top court’s decisions, and the victims filed another case requesting the liquidation of the assets of two Japanese companies to compensate forced labor victims.
The ministry came up with the third-party compensation measure last year to revitalize stalled relations with Japan.
At the time when the plan was announced, there was a divided response among the forced labor victims and their families, with several survivors expressing strong opposition and others voicing their acceptance of the bilateral agreement.
Since the announcement of the third-party reimbursement plan in March last year, 11 out of the 15 victims who won compensation in the Supreme Court rulings from October to November 2018 have received their compensation and delayed interest.
Yang, who said last March that she “would rather starve to death than accept such money” following the government’s announcement of the third-party reimbursement plan, reportedly changed her stance after being persuaded by the government.
Of the four victims who refused the government’s solution, only two — Yang and 104-year-old Lee Chun-sik — are still alive. With Yang reversing her stance and accepting the plan, her decision leaves Lee as the sole survivor still opposing the plan. The late Kim Seong-ju, who passed away on Oct. 5, also reversed her stance last May and accepted the third-party reimbursement plan.
Yang’s agreement with the government’s solution strengthens the legitimacy of the third-party reimbursement plan, which the opposition has criticized for “ignoring the victims’ wishes.” Her decision is also likely to influence other victims who have either received final compensation rulings or are still in litigation.
After the initial 15 victims received final rulings in October and November 2018, an additional 52 victims won similar rulings in nine related lawsuits in December 2023 and January this year. When announcing the third-party reimbursement plan, the government said if plaintiffs win in other pending forced labor lawsuits, compensation and delayed interest will be paid similarly.
However, the foundation needs at least an additional 12 billion won to compensate all these victims through third-party reimbursement. The principle is that all funds are to be raised through donations, but aside from voluntary contributions from Korea and Japan, there is no clear alternative. Even if more victims are persuaded to accept the third-party reimbursement plan, the lack of funds means compensation may not be provided.
The compensation and delayed interest paid to Yang were drawn from a 1.3-billion-won fund that had been earmarked for the four victims who initially refused the third-party reimbursement plan. However, the courts initially rejected the government’s attempt to deposit the funds, ruling that it went against the victims’ wishes, and related lawsuits were ongoing. Excluding the reserved fund, the foundation reportedly has only about 300 million won remaining.