Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Establishes Review Committee to Prevent Resale of Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Assets to Descendants

Subcommittee for the Review of Pro-Japanese Asset Sales Established in May

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will establish a review committee to prevent descendants from repurchasing assets confiscated from pro-Japanese collaborators.

On August 18, the ministry announced that, at the end of May, it had established a "Subcommittee for the Review of the Sale of Pro-Japanese Assets" under the "Deliberative Committee for the Operation of the Fund for National Patriots and Independence Activists and the Patriots and Veterans Fund." This measure aims to preemptively block cases in which assets confiscated from pro-Japanese collaborators are resold to their descendants, and to ensure that the sales process is managed more transparently and professionally.

Previously, from November last year to April this year, the ministry analyzed 341 past cases of private contracts in order to strengthen the systematic management and sales procedures for assets confiscated from pro-Japanese collaborators. As a result, it identified three types of cases suspected to involve resale to descendants: ▲ Occupied property (such as the presence of graves or buildings on the land), ▲ Rights relationships (such as the establishment of shared ownership), and ▲ Characteristics of the buyer (such as purchases by family members).

Trial scene of pro-Japanese collaborators arrested by the Special Investigation Committee for Anti-National Activities

Based on this analysis, the ministry plans to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the remaining 842 properties and to select 118 properties that match the identified types of suspected resale to descendants, placing them under intensive management.

The newly established subcommittee will focus its review on these 118 properties if their sale through private contracts is pursued, ensuring that the sales are conducted in accordance with the intent of the "Special Act on the Nationalization of Assets of Pro-Japanese Collaborators."

In addition, during the second half of the year, the ministry plans to thoroughly inspect the management status of the remaining assets through Korea Asset Management Corporation, which serves as both the trustee for these assets and a specialized institution in the management of national property. The ministry will also rigorously impose compensation fees on unauthorized occupants and collect leasing fees through appropriate contracts, thereby increasing fiscal revenue and improving the adequacy of asset management. A detailed survey of the remaining assets will be completed within the year, following the establishment of a basic plan in September.

Minister Kwon Oeul stated, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the sale and management of assets confiscated from pro-Japanese collaborators are handled with the highest standards, so that we can properly honor and support the independence patriots and their families who dedicated themselves to our nation's independence."

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