A bill outlining the compensation of those who were drafted into the Japanese military during Japanese colonial rule of the peninsula is now making progress in the National Assembly.
The families of those who served in the military under the Japanese in World War II are awaiting the bill’s passing. Source
Why is this issue coming up after 60 years?
The issue heated up when it was revealed in January 2005 that the Park Chung-hee government had received large sum of money from the Japanese government in compensation back in 1975 but did not pass the money along to those who served in the war.
The Seoul-Tokyo normalization accord showed that the South Korean government asked Japan to pay $364 million (roughly $2.3 billion in 2006 dollars) in compensation to the 1,032,684 people drafted by the Japanese colonial government.
However, between 1975 and 1977 the government paid 2.6 billion won ($21.4 million in 2006 dollars) to 8,552 people.
The government said that the rest of the money was used to build highways and key industries.
“The survivors’ request is to take back what they deserve. We are asking for the money that the government took without our permission,’’ said Yang Soon-im, chairwoman of the Association of Pacific War Victims and Bereaved Family.
Because of a 1965 treaty signed by Japan and Korea, Korean nationals cannot ask the Japanese government for compensation. Their only recourse is against the Korean government.
For additional reading on Korean force labor by Japan visit here. The photo is of Korean military conscripts on a Pacific island in 1943.
