{"id":2200339,"date":"2023-03-07T19:32:09","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T10:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200339"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:08:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:08:02","slug":"why-the-rok-japan-deal-on-forced-labor-will-be-hard-for-opponents-to-overturn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/03\/why-the-rok-japan-deal-on-forced-labor-will-be-hard-for-opponents-to-overturn\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the ROK-Japan deal on forced labor will be hard for opponents to overturn"},"content":{"rendered":"
After months of private negotiations, South Korea and Japan <\/span>agreed<\/span><\/a> to resolve the issue of compensation for victims of Japan\u2019s wartime forced labor programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The agreement put to rest a diplomatic issue that generated severe animosity in bilateral relations for much of the past five years. But many are now concerned that this agreement might not last long and wind up making relations between the two neighbors even worse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Between 1939 to 1945, the Japanese government attempted to resolve wartime labor shortages by <\/span>forcing<\/span><\/a> around 700,000 to 800,000 Koreans to work for private Japanese companies, where many suffered injuries and deaths. Japan ruled Korea as part of its empire from 1910 to 1945.<\/span><\/p>\n When Seoul and Japan normalized diplomatic relations in 1965, the <\/span>treaty<\/span><\/a> stated that problems concerning property, rights and interests of the two \u201cContracting Parties\u201d and their nationals (including juridical persons) were \u201csettled completely and finally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But the South Korean Supreme Court <\/span>ruled<\/span><\/a> in 2018 that the 1965 treaty should not impede individual victims\u2019 rights to seek redress. It ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, one of the Japanese corporations that profited from forced labor, to compensate South Koreans forced to work in its factories during World War II.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When Mitsubishi refused to comply with the court\u2019s orders, ROK courts <\/span>ordered<\/span><\/a> the seizure of the company\u2019s assets in 2021 and later ordered the <\/span>sale<\/span><\/a> of some of its assets to compensate the victims. As a result, diplomatic relations between the ROK and Japan deteriorated to their worst level in decades.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Japan <\/span>removed<\/span><\/a> South Korea from its list of countries with minimum export controls and <\/span>restricted<\/span><\/a> access to materials vital for manufacturing semiconductors.<\/span><\/p>\n A TENTATIVE SOLUTION<\/b><\/p>\n After years of frosty relations, the ROK\u2019s solution is to <\/span>establish<\/span><\/a> a foundation \u2014 the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization \u2014 that will receive \u201cvoluntary\u201d monetary donations from South Korean companies, such as POSCO, that benefited from the 1965 treaty. The ministry will then use that money to compensate the workers.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, Korean and Japanese businesses stated they would contribute to a <\/span>foundation<\/span><\/a> to support student exchanges between the two countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> reporters in Tokyo that the Japanese government would stand by its previous apology to South Korea over past aggressions after Seoul finalized a solution to the wartime labor issue. \u201cWe have taken over the position articulated by the previous Cabinets on the view of history and will continue to do so,\u201d Kishida said.<\/span><\/p>\n Relations between Seoul and Tokyo are thawing and improving quickly. Seoul and Tokyo are working towards <\/span>lifting<\/span><\/a> the latter\u2019s export curbs that have been in place since 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Another topic that Yoon administration officials have frequently brought up was the <\/span>normalization<\/span><\/a> of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) \u2014 a military information-sharing agreement. The two countries could utilize GSOMIA to share critical information about North Korea\u2019s missiles.<\/span><\/p>\n There is an improved chance that Yoon will <\/span>visit<\/span><\/a> Japan later this month to meet with Kishida before he visits the U.S. <\/span>in the spring<\/span><\/a>. Japanese news media also <\/span>reported<\/span><\/a> that Tokyo is considering inviting Yoon to the Group of Seven (G7) summit meeting in Hiroshima in May.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With these three consecutive meetings under his belt, Yoon will have the impetus to build a stronger U.S.-ROK-Japan partnership.<\/span><\/p>\n