South Korea has announced a controversial plan to compensate Korean citizens who are victims of Japanese forced labor in wartime, but without direct involvement of Japan.

The plan reflects conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol's determination to mend frayed ties with Tokyo and consolidate trilateral security cooperation with Washington to better cope with North Korea's nuclear threats. The measure sparked an immediate reaction from former forced laborers and their supporters, who are demanding direct compensation from Japanese companies.

Ap

Protest demonstration in Seoul. The signs read: "Withdraw the anti-historical and anti-constitutional bill

What the plan envisages

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said the victims would be compensated through a local foundation funded by civilian donations, coming from major South Korean companies, which benefited from Japan's 1965 reparations package — to compensate the victims.

He said South Korea and Japan are in a "new window of opportunity" to overcome their past conflicts and build future-oriented relations, stressing the need to close a long-running dispute holding back full cooperation between the two main U.S. allies in the Far East, amid the North Korean threat and China's assertive posture.

"I think this is the last opportunity," he explained. "We have to see the glass half full. We expect the glass to be further filled going forward based on Japan's sincere response." Finally, he concluded: "I hope that Japan will respond positively to our important decision today with voluntary contributions from Japanese companies and with a comprehensive apology."

The exploitation of Korean forced labor by the Japanese in the colonial period, together with the story of the so-called "comfort women" used in the military brothels of the Japanese Imperial Army, is one of the great issues still open with Japan which, between 1910 and 1945, had annexed South Korea and with which relations have always been particularly problematic.

The new geopolitical structure of the area - with North Korea intensifying missile tests and Beijing's military presence in the South China Sea and around Taiwan - has certainly influenced Seoul's push to relax international relations with Tokyo with which a "territorial" dispute over the "Liancourt Rocks" (Dokdo in Korean, Tokushima in Japanese) which de facto since 1953 are under Korean administration.

The two countries are also two allies of the United States, host American soldiers and have geopolitical interests coinciding with those of Washington. For example, they participate in the famous joint military exercises that sparked the wrath of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The "March 1 speech"

The decision on forced labor was also anticipated by a "historic" speech by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol who on March 1, a significant date because it marks the birth of the 1919 independence movement for liberation from Japanese colonial rule, defined Tokyo as a "partner" in facing security and economic challenges.

And he did so in the room dedicated to Ryu Gwan-su, considered a Korean national heroine, who died at the age of 17 in prison for his anti-colonial struggle.

"Today, after more than a century, Japan has transformed itself from a militaristic aggressor to a partner with whom we share the same universal values," he said.

"Trilateral cooperation between the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan has become more important than ever to overcome security crises, starting with that of the growing North Korean nuclear threats, and multiple global crises," the South Korean head of state said, triggering the reaction of the opposition that immediately accused the president of having shown an attitude of "submission".

Tokyo's response was immediate. "For Japan, South Korea is an important neighbor with which to cooperate on various international issues," said Japan's chief of staff Hirokazu Matsuno, who serves as government spokesman.

Ap

The statue dedicated to the victims of forced labor in Seoul

Tokyo's location

Japan has welcomed South Korea's plan to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's militarism on the Korean peninsula, deeming it useful to re-establish "healthy" ties after years of tension.

"The Tokyo government assesses the measures announced by the South Korean government as an effort to restore healthy Japan-South Korean ties after they found themselves in a very serious situation due to the 2018 ruling," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said, referring to the Seoul Supreme Court ordering some Japanese companies to pay compensation for forced labor. Japan responded by imposing export controls on chemicals vital to South Korea's semiconductor industry in 2019, with bilateral trust inevitably deteriorating.

Until now, Japan has always dismissed the issue of forced labor by referring to the 1965 treaty, which allowed the two countries to re-establish diplomatic relations with reparative funds for about 800 million dollars in loans and subsidies, considering it as a solution to any claim relating to the colonial and militarist period. This time, however, even the Rising Sun feels the weight of the changed geopolitical structure in the area so much so that the Japanese media have already anticipated that Japanese companies could voluntarily provide donations, while Tokyo could express remorse for forced labor, as it did in the past.

According to data provided by Seoul, about 780,000 Koreans were forced into forced labor by Japan during the 35 years of occupation, not counting women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.

This question remains open. The parties reached an agreement in 2015 to "finally and irreversibly" resolve that problem, with a Japanese apology and the formation of a 1 billion yen fund for survivors. South Korea later withdrew from the agreement, annulling it, citing the lack of consent of the victims. The decision sparked a bitter diplomatic dispute that has extended to affect trade and security ties.

US welcomes deal

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed South Korea's announced plan to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, noting that the two countries are "two of the most important allies of the United States and we are inspired by the work they have done to advance their bilateral relations."

Therefore, it reads in a statement, "we welcome today's historic announcements by the governments of the Republic of Korea and Japan on the conclusion of discussions related to sensitive historical issues."

Washington has long been working for the relaxation of Tokyo-Seoul tensions, with a breakthrough that only matured with the ascent to the South Korean presidency in May 2022 of Yoon Suk-yeol. Japanese media have also reported that Yoon may soon visit Tokyo, perhaps even this week for a Japan-South Korea baseball game.