JAPAN-SOUTH KOREA RIFT
Korean lawmakers submit wartime labor bill to defuse Japan feud
Proposal to fund compensation with donations faces
opposition at home
SEOUL -- South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday submitted
legislation designed to break Seoul's political deadlock with
Tokyo over wartime labor compensation, although its prospects
in the parliament are uncertain because of stiff opposition from
plaintiffs in court cases as well as civic groups.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President
Moon Jae-in are scheduled to meet for the first time in 15 months on
Tuesday. By submitting the legislation ahead of the meeting,
South Korean lawmakers hope to showcase their effort to tackle
the issue at the core of the current standoff between the two countries.
The legislation, sponsored by National Assembly Speaker
Moon Hee-sang and 13 other ruling and opposition party
lawmakers, would create a fund using donations from
corporations and individuals from South Korea and Japan.
The fund would then compensate those forced to work
for Japanese companies during World War II and their families,
instead of the companies that were ordered to do so by the
South Korean Supreme Court.
"I hope that this will be a turning point for cooling
South Korea-Japan relations to focus on the future,
" Moon Hee-sang said.
But plaintiffs in wartime labor cases oppose the legislation,
arguing that they gloss over Japan's responsibility over the
labor issue. The Japanese side needs to apologize to
the South Korean victims, and that the term
"donations" absolves the companies of their obligations,
the plaintiffs' lawyers said Wednesday.
Civic groups across South Korea held protests and lodged
protests with lawmakers before the legislation was introduced.
Some are planning to campaign against any legislators who vote
for the bills in the next elections.
The legislation struggled to find sponsors until the very end.
Going forward, opposition is likely to persist within the ruling
Democratic Party of Korea.
Even if it passes, if certain plaintiffs refuse to take money
from the fund, the courts could still sell off assets they
seized from Japanese companies for the purpose of
compensating wartime labor victims. Such a move would
further heighten tensions as Japan considers the issue of wartime compensation to have been settled through a 1965 treaty.
The South Korean government for now has kept a distance
from the National Assembly speaker. Officially,
President Moon supports the Supreme Court's decisions
and is not working to dissuade plaintiffs from seeking
compensation, a source familiar with the matter said.
Some in the Japanese government, on the other hand,
see the lawmakers' move as the first concrete attempt to
address the court ruling, which Japan views as violating international law.
