Gwangju District Court Registrar Rejects Objection to Refusal of Forced Labor Compensation Deposit

The Gwangju District Court deposit officer, who rejected the government's application for deposit of compensation for some forced labor victims, also dismissed the government's objection, leading the competent court, the Gwangju District Court, to decide on whether to accept the deposit after examining the legal issues.

Citizens are passing by the Statue of Forced Laborers installed at Yongsan Station Plaza in Seoul on March 6, just before the government’s official announcement of a solution for compensation for forced labor victims during the Japanese occupation. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

According to the Gwangju District Court on the 5th, the Forced Labor Victims Support Foundation's objection to the 'rejection of deposit' related to forced labor victim grandmother Yang Geum-deok, filed with the Gwangju District Court, was dismissed by the responsible deposit officer as "unfounded."

On the 5th, the deposit officer attached their opinion to the objection and forwarded it to the competent district court, the Gwangju District Court, for judicial review. If the court finds the foundation's objection "valid," it will order the deposit officer to take appropriate measures, allowing the deposit acceptance procedure to proceed.

If the court agrees with the deposit officer's opinion that the "rejection" is proper, the final decision will be sent to the foundation. The objecting foundation may file an appeal against the court's decision.

Earlier, on the 3rd, the government initiated the procedure to deposit compensation with the court for four plaintiffs in the forced labor compensation lawsuit who did not accept the third-party payment solution. Among the four plaintiffs for whom the deposit procedure was initiated, the deposit applications for surviving victims grandmother Yang Geum-deok and grandfather Lee Chun-sik were submitted to the Gwangju District Court. The Gwangju District Court deposit officer rejected the deposit for grandmother Yang, citing her clear refusal, and returned the deposit application for grandfather Lee due to incomplete documents.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly opposed the rejection of grandmother Yang's deposit, stating that it is "difficult to accept legally," and filed an objection through the foundation.

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