Korea-Japan Forced Labor Discussions... No Common Ground Yet

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] South Korea and Japan have yet to find common ground regarding a solution for compensation related to forced labor during wartime.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 20th, Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa held a meeting for about 55 minutes on the afternoon of the 19th (local time) in New York, USA, where the United Nations General Assembly is being held.

During this meeting, Minister Park introduced the voices of forced labor victims and conveyed opinions from four rounds of public-private consultative meetings to Foreign Minister Hayashi. It is reported that he specifically mentioned various proposed solutions raised domestically as well as the demands of the victims in considerable detail.

The victims' side has consistently argued that even if methods such as subrogation (repayment by a third party) are used instead of direct compensation by the Japanese companies accused of forced labor, those accused companies must participate in raising the funds. This is considered the minimum measure to ensure the responsibility of the accused companies. It is also likely that Minister Park explained that the funds should primarily be raised by private sectors such as Korean and Japanese companies. Previously, the public-private consultative meeting had taken a negative stance on using government budgets to raise these funds.

Japan has maintained the position that the forced labor compensation issue should be resolved independently by South Korea, but recently appears to be engaging in consultations with a more serious attitude than before. Showing a sense of urgency to resolve this issue quickly, diplomatic communication between South Korea and Japan is accelerating. The Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meetings have been held almost once a month recently.

However, it remains uncertain whether they can reach an agreement on specific contentious issues. Regarding Minister Park’s explanation on compensation for forced labor victims, Foreign Minister Hayashi conveyed "Japan’s consistent position," according to a press release from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Japan’s "consistent position" appears to refer to the Japanese government’s claim that the compensation issue was completely and finally resolved by the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement. This is based on the perception that the South Korean Supreme Court’s ruling requiring compensation to victims violates the agreement and international law. It indirectly reiterates the view that defendant companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have no obligation to pay compensation to the victims.

The last-minute tensions between South Korea and Japan over whether to hold a summit also relate to the temperature gap surrounding the forced labor solution. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official declined to comment to reporters on the possibility of holding a summit on that day.

From Japan’s perspective, there is speculation that they remain cautious about holding a summit with South Korea without guaranteed results. It is also analyzed that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, whose approval ratings have recently plummeted, must consider the opinions of the conservative base within Japan.

On the other hand, from South Korea’s standpoint, it is necessary to persuade Japan to take sincere measures through the highest-level negotiations. However, both countries sharing an awareness of the urgency to improve relations?citing the "rapidly changing international situation and the grave situation on the Korean Peninsula" (South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release) and the "current strategic environment" (Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release)?could serve as momentum for progress in discussions.

The South Korean government plans to accelerate efforts to gather domestic public opinion based on its persuasion efforts toward Japan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly considering the specific scale, format, and timing of a large-scale forum involving various stakeholders related to forced labor. While only representatives of victims who received final rulings from the Supreme Court attended the first and second public-private consultative meetings, a large forum may include victims who have not yet received final rulings and are still in litigation, victims who have not proven forced labor, and various support organizations, thus involving a broader range of stakeholders.

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