Forced labor victims protest in wheelchairs, reject S.Korea deal on
Japan
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[March 07, 2023]
By Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) - Two elderly South Korean victims of wartime forced
labor took to the streets in wheelchairs on Tuesday, saying they
rejected a compensation deal announced this week, potentially
complicating Seoul's efforts to end a diplomatic spat with Japan.
Under President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan, South Korea would compensate
former forced laborers through an existing public foundation funded by
South Korean private-sector companies, rather than seeking payments from
Japan. The two victims, whose consent is required for the deal to
proceed, rebuffed the proposal saying Tokyo should pay compensation and
apologize.
Their opposition could mean that a proposal hailed as "groundbreaking"
by U.S. President Joe Biden may not be a done deal, prolonging a dispute
that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against
China and North Korea.
The two women, Yang Geum-deok and Kim Sung-joo, both now aged 95, worked
at a Mitsubishi Heavy aircraft factory in Nagoya, Japan when they were
teens during World War II.
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Living outside Seoul, the ailing women travelled to a demonstration at
the parliament, joining hundreds of supporters including opposition
lawmakers, who waved red cards and banners, calling Yoon's diplomacy
"humiliating" and demanding the deal be withdrawn.
"We can forgive, if Japan tells us one word, we are sorry and we did
wrong. But there's no such word," Kim said, with hands shaking by the
effects of a stroke.
"The more I think about that, the more I cry," she said, escorted by her
son.
On Tuesday, Yoon said the proposal was a result of meeting both
countries' common interest.
Relations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's
Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to
former forced laborers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, but
none has been compensated.
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![](../images/030723PIX/news_s83.jpg)
Kim Seong-ju, a survivor of forced labor
under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial occupation, leaves after a protest
denouncing the government plan to resolve a dispute over
compensating forced labor victims, at the National Assembly in
Seoul, South Korea, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Mar/07/images/ads/current/ldn_lda_BUSINESSDIRECTORY_PROMO_2023.png)
Japan has said the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty and
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday his
government's stance had not changed.
The two victims were part of so-called "Labor Corps" where young
Korean girls were drafted to work in Japanese munitions factories
during the war.
Kim had her finger chopped while cutting metal plates for fighter
jets. During the day, Yang wiped rusted machine parts with thinner
and alcohol but had no gloves, so her hands were bleeding at night.
After Japan lost the war in 1945, they returned home but didn't get
paid for their 17-month-long labor stint.
Overall there are about 1,815 living victims of forced labor in
South Korea, according to government data.
The compensation for each woman was estimated at around 210 million
won ($161,465.18), according to the Victims of Japanese Wartime
Forced Labor support group.
Like Yang and Kim, some of the 15 plaintiffs say they will reject
the government's plan, setting the stage for more legal battles.
"It is so unfair. I don't know where Yoon Suk Yeol is from. Is he
truly a South Korean? I won't take that money even if I starve to
death," said Yang, chanting "Yoon Suk Yeol Out".
($1 = 1,300.5900 won)
(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Josh Smith and Sharon
Singleton)
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