Korean biz lobby says to consider 'every measure' for envisioned youth fund under forced labor solution

• Published date: 06 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

A major business lobby in Korea said Monday it will consider all measures to flesh out a plan Korea and Japan have agreed to push for to form a joint fund to support the youth under Seoul's proposal on compensating Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor.

The Seoul government earlier announced the decision to compensate 15 forced labor victims through a government foundation funded with donations from Korean companies, instead of Tokyo paying them as ordered by Seoul courts.

The government also proposed creating a "future youth fund," as part of the resolution measures, to serve as a bridge to revitalize private exchanges, especially among the younger generations.

The government offered the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) to lead efforts to establish the fund.

"The FKI and Keidanren have discussed various ways to develop the Korea-Japan relations in a forward-looking manner, and we will begin more detailed discussions on how to build future-oriented ties based on the...