President Yoon Suk-yeol's remarks in an interview with Japanese media ahead of the Korea-Japan summit, stating that third-party payment is reasonable and that the government will not claim subrogation rights even if the administration changes later, have sparked sharply divided opinions between the ruling and opposition parties. While the ruling party positively evaluates it as a "practical alternative," the opposition party has mentioned legal responsibility after a regime change, saying, "It must be corrected once the administration changes."
Jeong Dong-young, former Minister of Unification and current senior advisor to the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 16th on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "He is expressing his unilateral wish. Where is such a law? When the administration changes, the wrong things will be corrected again," he said.
Regarding President Yoon's statement that he has thought third-party payment was reasonable since his time as a prosecutor, he said, "This tramples on the rule of law. The Supreme Court's ruling is that Japanese companies must compensate, but if Japanese companies say they don't need to and our companies will pay instead, this does not align with the rule of law," adding, "For example, if our companies have nothing to do with the Supreme Court ruling but pay money for a third party, this precisely constitutes breach of trust, and the person who ordered this is guilty of abuse of authority."
He suggested that legal responsibility could be pursued after a regime change regarding President Yoon's "third-party payment plan." Hong Ik-pyo, a lawmaker from the same party, also said on KBS Radio, "Third-party payment cannot be done if the party involved refuses. There are clearly legal issues remaining, but this is being pushed forward without resolving them," adding, "If the administration changes or the situation changes in a few years, all those involved could face judicial action or even become subjects of a national audit."
On the other hand, Yoon Sang-hyun, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said, "In fact, the Japanese have always maintained that the claims dispute was settled by the 1965 Korea-Japan Basic Treaty and Claims Agreement, and it is true that both the Korean and Japanese governments have continuously accepted that position," adding, "During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, although individuals had the right to claim damages, it was practically impossible to exercise that right, and there was a case around 2007 where about 650 billion won was paid to forced labor victims."
He continued, "Criticism that the Japanese position was accepted regarding subrogation rights is hard to see when looking at the history of Korea-Japan relations," adding, "Claiming subrogation rights is not an easy matter. The Japanese government strictly prohibits Japanese companies from claiming subrogation rights and has taken a hardline stance that if this proceeds, Korea-Japan relations would become irreparable, so there is no proper solution."
People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho said, "President Yoon Suk-yeol's decision to forgo subrogation rights is a magnanimous decision," and targeted the opposition's critical public opinion by saying, "Criticizing the president over what to give and what to take ahead of the Korea-Japan summit can only weaken the president's diplomacy with Japan."
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