Government Likely to Announce 'Third-Party Compensation Plan' for Forced Labor... Opposition Calls It "Worst Humiliating Diplomacy in History"

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration is reportedly set to announce a solution for compensation of forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial period, centered on 'third-party payment,' while the Democratic Party harshly criticized it as "humiliating diplomacy that covers up Japan's responsibility."

President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Photo by Yonhap News

The government is expected to officially announce as early as the 6th a solution for compensation of forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial period, led by South Korea and based on the 'third-party payment' method. The Forced Mobilization Victims Support Foundation under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which received funding from domestic companies, is likely to support compensation payments to victims who received a final ruling for compensation from the Supreme Court in 2018, instead of the Japanese defendant companies, through the 'third-party payment' plan. Instead, the South Korean and Japanese governments have reportedly tentatively agreed on a plan for the Federation of Korean Industries and Japan's Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) to jointly establish a 'Future Youth Fund' (tentative name).

In response, spokesperson Park Seong-jun said at a National Assembly briefing that day, "We cannot accept the government's compensation plan for forced labor victims," adding, "There is a high possibility that the third-party payment plan will be announced, which is an agreement that covers up and exempts Japan's responsibility for its past."

Spokesperson Park said, "Having already damaged the spirit of the March 1st Movement, are they now trying to insult the victims and the people? This is not an agreement for the victims, nor is it an agreement to hold Japanese forced labor companies accountable."

The Democratic Party's 'Yoon Suk-yeol Regime Diplomatic Disaster and Lies Countermeasures Committee' also stated in a press release, "If the government officially announces the third-party payment plan and Japan government's indirect apology, it will be recorded as the worst humiliating diplomacy in the history of South Korean diplomacy," adding, "This humiliating solution will not improve relations with Japan but will instead become another source of conflict in diplomacy with Japan."

Floor spokesperson Oh Young-hwan also said in a written briefing, "It is a pardon for Japanese war crime companies," and asked, "How can a negotiation result that only Japan welcomes with open arms become a future for our people?"

On the other hand, the People Power Party supported the government plan, saying, "We cannot move forward if we remain stuck in the dark past," and added, "A future cooperative relationship that aligns with the mutual interests and values of both countries requires a sincere and active response from the Japanese government and companies, along with facing the past."