Children of Forced Labor Victims: "Unwanted Deposits, Are We Being Killed Twice?"

Victim Side: "It's Like Letting a Won Trial Slide"
"No Compromise with the Government... Japan Must Apologize"

Families of forced labor victims who rejected the government's "third-party payment" solution voiced criticism against the government's plan to deposit compensation funds. They said, "Trying to settle a won lawsuit by making a deposit is tantamount to killing the victims again."

On the 11th, a press conference was held at the main gate of the Foundation for the Support of Victims of Forced Mobilization during Japanese Occupation in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to announce the victims' stance on the third-party payment deposit. Among the four victims who rejected the government's solution, two family members attended: Jeong Jong-geon, the eldest son of the late Jeong Chang-hee, a victim of Mitsubishi Hiroshima Heavy Industries, and Lee Go-woon and Lee Chang-hwan, the eldest daughter and eldest son of Lee Chun-sik, a surviving victim of forced labor at Nippon Steel. The family of victim Yang Geum-deok, who resides in Gwangju, was also scheduled to attend but could not come due to heavy rain.

On the 11th, at the press conference held at the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the third-party repayment deposit, Jeong Jong-geon, the eldest son of the late forced labor victim Jeong Chang-hee, is speaking. From the left are Jeong Jong-geon, Lee Go-woon and Lee Chang-hwan, children of Lee Chun-sik.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong Jong-geon stated, "(The government) is making a mockery of our country's laws by using the strange method of third-party payment," and declared, "The deposit is completely invalid." He reiterated, "What we demand is an apology and compensation from the Japanese government and Mitsubishi."

When these four victims refused to accept the compensation, the government initiated the procedure to deposit the funds in court earlier this month. However, as the victims clearly expressed their opposition, the court did not accept the deposit. Lee Go-woon conveyed her father's position, saying, "Opposing the deposit until death," and added, "Trying to settle a won lawsuit by making a deposit is the same as killing not only my father but also the deceased victims again." She raised her voice, saying, "There will be no compromise with the government," and "The Japanese government must naturally apologize."

Attorney Lim Jae-sung, the victims' legal representative, argued, "The core of the government's deposit is to unilaterally take away the creditor's rights," and said, "It means nullifying the judgment received by someone who has been litigating for over 30 years."

After the press conference, the children of the forced labor victims met with Shim Gyu-seon, the chairman of the foundation, to convey their position of "Please do not proceed with the deposit procedure any further," but Chairman Shim reportedly made no special remarks.

Earlier, in March, the government announced a "third-party payment" method in which the foundation would pay the compensation owed by Japanese companies using funds it raised, and 11 out of 15 people who received a final Supreme Court ruling accepted this. When the remaining four victims, including Lee Chun-sik, rejected this method, the government took out the card of depositing the compensation in court on the 3rd, but the court's decision to reject the deposit put a brake on this plan.

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