Resumption of Pro-Japanese Property Confiscation... Pro-Japanese Property Reversion Act Passes National Assembly

Special Act on the National Reversion of Pro-Japanese Collaborators' Properties Passed
Asset Recovery System Resumes After 2010 Committee Dissolution
Proceeds from Sold Properties to Be Reclaimed, New Rewards for Informants

A legal foundation has been established to reintroduce the Committee for the Investigation of Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators’ Properties.

The Ministry of Justice announced that the bill titled "Special Act on the National Reversion of Properties of Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators," which provides for the confiscation of such properties by the state, passed the National Assembly plenary session on May 7, 2026.

This bill was initiated to address the absence of institutional mechanisms for investigating and reclaiming newly uncovered pro-Japanese collaborator properties, following the dissolution of the Committee for the Investigation of Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators’ Properties in 2010 after its four-year term since its establishment in 2006.

National Assembly plenary session hall. Photo by Yonhap News.

The bill includes legal grounds to recover the proceeds from the sale of pro-Japanese collaborator properties, even if they have already been sold, as well as new provisions such as a reward system to encourage reporting related to such properties.

Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho stated, "The enactment of this law demonstrates the nation’s determination to thoroughly settle accounts with pro-Japanese collaborators," adding, "Efforts to reclaim unjustly accumulated properties from pro-Japanese and anti-national collaborators and to restore historical justice will resume in earnest."

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