Kim Won-woong, President of the Liberation Association, "Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Land Concentrated in the Seoul Metropolitan Area... Valued at 60 Billion Won"

Application for State Ownership of Land in Namyangju, Hanam, Guri, and Paju Owned by Descendants of 12 Pro-Japanese Collaborators

Kim Won-woong, President of the Korea Liberation Association, delivers a congratulatory speech at the 99th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony of the Korean Independence Army's Battles of Bongodong, Cheongsanri, and Daejeonjaeryeong held at the National Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Kim Won-woong, chairman of the Liberation Association, who previously demanded the relocation of pro-Japanese collaborators buried in the National Cemetery, has now taken measures to recover the property of descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators in the form of state ownership.

Kim Won-woong, chairman of the Liberation Association, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 31st and said, "We have applied for state ownership of land owned by descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators. The official land price is 15.6 billion KRW, but the actual land price reaches 50 to 60 billion KRW," adding, "The land applied for state ownership is concentrated in the metropolitan area including Namyangju, Hanam, Guri, and Paju." Earlier, the Liberation Association announced that it had applied for state ownership of land owned by 12 descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators.

Regarding lawsuits from descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators, Chairman Kim said, "Most of the land applied for state ownership found by the Liberation Association is unlikely to be subject to lawsuits," and added, "Although the methods are becoming more diverse, such as donating inherited property to religious organizations or hiding it by creating corporate entities, we have identified and secured several pro-Japanese properties."

The Special Act on the State Ownership of Property of Pro-Japanese Anti-National Acts mandates that property acquired as a reward for cooperating with Japan between the start of the Russo-Japanese War (February 1904) and August 15, 1945, be transferred to the state. Since the Ministry of Justice took over the state ownership lawsuits from the Pro-Japanese Property Investigation Committee in July 2010, it has won 16 out of 17 lawsuits.

Recently, the Ministry of Justice filed lawsuits to recover land inherited by descendants of Lee Hae-seung (1890?1958) and Im Seon-jun (1860?1919), known pro-Japanese collaborators. In October last year, the Liberation Association requested the Ministry of Justice to transfer 80 parcels of pro-Japanese property (total area 167,142㎡, official land price 18 billion KRW) owned by descendants of six pro-Japanese collaborators including Lee Hae-seung and third parties to the state.

The Ministry of Justice filed lawsuits at the Uijeongbu District Court and Suwon District Court Yeoju Branch against the descendants of Lee Hae-seung and Im Seon-jun, demanding the transfer of ownership of 15 parcels of land including land in Howon-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, to the state. The targeted land covers an area of 21,612㎡, with a land value of 2.24093 billion KRW based on the official land price.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.