Forced labor victims reject gov't's compensation plan

• Published date: 07 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Surviving victims of wartime forced labor by Japanese firms strongly condemned on Tuesday the Korean government's proposal to settle the compensation issue without the direct involvement of the Japanese companies.

Yang Geum-deok, 94, one of the victims, said she will not accept the money if it is not coming directly from the responsible firm, even if she "starves to death."

On the previous day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed a plan to compensate the victims through a public foundation that will be funded primarily by Korean companies that benefited from reparations Japan provided under a 1965 treaty, instead of the responsible Japanese firms.

The arrangement, which aims to resolve a years-long diplomatic tussle between Seoul and Tokyo, immediately drew criticisms from victims and liberal lawmakers for completely ignoring the victims' calls for a fresh apology and direct payment from Japan.

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"I will not accept the money even if I starve to death," Yang said during a press conference held at the National Assembly, denouncing the absence of the Japanese firms in the proposed compensation process.

She also called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down, saying that his administration's arrangement with Japan is unacceptable.

The 94-year-old was forced to work at a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries factory in Nagoya in 1944. She returned home to Naju, South Jeolla Province, in August 1945 after Korea's liberation that year.

Kim Sung-joo, 93, another surviving victim, said, "It was Japan that took us (for...