Declassified papers show Seoul received grants to put an end to reparation claims
Seoul is bracing itself for a possible flood of lawsuits from elderly South Koreans who claim the government cheated them of their right to compensation for suffering and losses incurred under Japanese colonial rule.
The lawsuits are expected in the wake of the publication this week of official documents which reveal that Seoul received large grants and loans from Japan in return for agreeing not to pursue future claims for reparation for Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the peninsula. However, less than 10 per cent of the money earmarked for compensation reached the victims of Japanese colonisation.
The victims and their families have pledged to pursue legal action against Seoul for their share of reparations. 'The South Korea-Japan Treaty, which deprived individuals of their rights, is a product of illicit collusion between the two nations' political powers,' said Yang Soon-im, head of the Association for the Pacific War Victims.
South Korea's undertaking underpinned the 1965 treaty signed with Japan, which normalised relations between the two countries.
'Now that various claims are being settled together, how to deal with individual claims should be treated as a domestic issue,' a Seoul negotiator is quoted as saying in the declassified minutes.
Under the terms of the treaty, South Korea received US$800 million in grants and soft loans in return for settling the issue of reparations.