Forced Labor 'Joseonin War Criminals'... Unconstitutionality of Compensation to be Decided After 7 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The conclusion of the constitutional complaint filed by Koreans who were mobilized as Japanese soldiers during the Japanese colonial period and later punished as war criminals, claiming that the government is not addressing the issue, is about to be announced. It has been seven years since the constitutional complaint was filed in 2014.

On the 31st, the Constitutional Court will hold a ruling session at 2 p.m. in the Grand Bench regarding the constitutional complaint case filed by the late Lee Hak-rae, chairman of Dongjinhoe, who argued that "the government's failure to resolve the issue of Korean war criminals is unconstitutional."

Members and bereaved families of Dongjinhoe, an association of surviving Korean war criminals, filed the constitutional complaint in 2014, claiming that the Korean government neglected the issue of war criminals from its own country and infringed upon their fundamental rights.

Victims such as Mr. Lee were conscripted during the Japanese colonial period and assigned to units responsible for managing Allied prisoners of war after becoming Japanese soldiers. They were later punished as Class B and C war criminals in Allied military trials. Through these war crime trials, they were imprisoned in various prisons across Southeast Asia and transferred to Sugamo Prison in Japan, where they were detained before being released on parole or other grounds.

However, due to the stigma of being war criminals, they were unable to return home. They filed lawsuits at the Tokyo District Court demanding an apology and state compensation from the Japanese government but lost in all three trials. The Japanese government maintained that compensation issues were resolved under the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement signed in 1965. Subsequently, the victims filed a constitutional complaint in 2014, arguing that the Korean government’s failure to properly negotiate with the Japanese government regarding the handling of Korean Class B and C war criminals after the 1965 Claims Agreement was unconstitutional.

Previously, a similar constitutional complaint was filed with the Constitutional Court. Victims of Japanese military sexual slavery (comfort women) argued that the Korean government’s failure to diplomatically resolve the issue after the Japanese government declared compensation matters settled was unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court accepted the victims’ claims in 2011.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Constitutional Court will also deliver a ruling on a constitutional complaint filed by former lawmaker Lee Jeong-hyun, who argued that Article 4, Paragraph 2 of the Broadcasting Act, which prohibits regulation or interference in broadcasting programming, is unconstitutional. Lee was fined 10 million won last year after being prosecuted for intervening in KBS coverage following the Sewol ferry disaster while serving as the Blue House’s head of public relations in 2014.

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