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Announcement of Compensation for Forced Labor
On March 6, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin officially announced that, in order to resolve the issue of compensation for Korean victims of forced labor committed by Japan, a Korean foundation, instead of a Japanese company, would create a donation to compensate the victims.
The government announced this compensation plan because President Yoon Seok-yeol thought that Korea-Japan relations should not deteriorate any further.
The Korean government also urged Japanese companies to participate in the proper expression of apology and donations from the Japanese side for the forced labor.
What happened?
When Japan occupied Korea about 100 years ago, Japan forcibly took Koreans to Japan and forced them to work harshly.
It is estimated that between 1939 and 1945, between 1.13 million and 1.46 million Koreans were forcibly mobilized. They worked mainly in coal mines and munitions factories, and were often beaten and killed without being paid.
Korea and Japan continue to fight
People who were taken away at this time and returned to Korea after the defeat of Japanese imperialism in 1945 have been fighting against Japan for about 10 years, asking for compensation for the pain and damage they suffered.
This fight seemed to end a while ago when the Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation.
However, Japan and Japanese companies refused to pay compensation, and another fight began. Since then, relations between Korea and Japan have deteriorated rapidly.
Reasons for Japan's refusal to pay reparations
Korea and Japan concluded a claim agreement in 1965 and decided to compensate Korea for all damages suffered during the Japanese colonial period in exchange for 300 million dollars.
Japan is arguing that there is no reason for Japan to pay additional compensation because of this agreement. However, South Korea is arguing that this agreement has ended the compensation demanded by the state from the state, and that the individual's right to demand from the state or corporations still remains.
As this claim was at odds with each other, Korea and Japan have been hating each other very much for the past three years.
Conflict will continue
The problem could be easily solved if Japanese companies actively participated in raising compensation funds for Korean victims, but the Japanese government does not allow this.
Then, They set out to raise a scholarship fund for Korean international students, which had a completely different meaning.
Those who suffered from forced labor are refusing to pay compensation from the Korean government instead of Japanese companies. It is also criticizing the Korean government for making such an announcement unilaterally, regardless of the will of the victim.
The Korean government is requesting cooperation with Japan for the future, but the victims and public opinion do not seem to accept it easily.
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