Seoul-Tokyo wartime compensation talks stall over flawed plan for victims’ fund

South Korea unveiled a plan in which a Seoul-based fund would receive donations from Korean companies to compensate victims, with contributions from Japan

Tokyo strongly objects to taking part in the fund and victims have rejected the proposal, calling for Japan to pay reparations and apologise explicitly

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Plaintiffs in the Korean war victims’ case speak at Seoul Foreign Correspondents’ Club on February 16, 2023. Photo: Park Chan-kyong

Published: 8:30am, 17 Feb 2023Updated: 5:01pm, 17 Feb 2023

Seoul has hit a wall in its efforts to resolve a protracted diplomatic dispute over the compensation of Korean victims of Japan’s wartime forced labour as Tokyo strongly objects to taking part in a Seoul-based reparation fund, analysts say.

Washington has been putting pressure on both Seoul and Tokyo to put the historic issue behind them and move forward for a three-way defence cooperation to cope with an assertive China and threats from North Korea.

The United States does not take any side explicitly in this highly sensitive issue, according to analysts.

The South Korean government unveiled a plan last month in what it called the “most feasible” proposal in which a Seoul-based fund would receive donations from Korean companies to compensate the victims.

The fund, which was proposed by South Korea’s foreign ministry at a public hearing, would be financed by the likes of giant steelmaker Posco; one of a number of companies that benefited from a 1965 treaty through which South Korea received a package of US$300 million in economic aid and US$500 million in loans from Japan.

Some victims have rejected the proposal as “not worth considering”, calling for Japan to pay reparations and apologise explicitly. “My last wish before I die is to receive a sincere apology from Japan,” 94-year-old victim Yang Geum-deuk told journalists on Thursday.