Government Deposits Compensation for Two Forced Labor Cases at Suwon District Court

The government has also deposited the trust money for some forced labor victims who did not accept the 'third-party payment' solution at the Suwon District Court and other courts.

On March 8, participants at the 1,586th Wednesday Demonstration for the resolution of the Japanese military sexual slavery issue, held near the former Japanese Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are holding signs opposing the government plan related to forced labor announced by the government on the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Foundation for Supporting Victims of Japanese Forced Mobilization, the institution responsible for executing the third-party payment, deposited the judgment money scheduled to be paid to two plaintiffs who maintain their refusal of the solution at the Suwon District Court, which has jurisdiction over the addresses of the bereaved families. A trust deposit is a system where money or other assets are entrusted to the court to obtain certain legal effects. The trust officer at the Suwon District Court plans to review the documents and decide whether to accept the trust deposit.

The subjects are two children of the deceased victims, the late Jeong Chang-hee grandfather and the late Park Hae-ok grandmother, who are reported to reside in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, respectively.

Previously, the foundation submitted a trust deposit for one bereaved family member of the late Jeong Chang-hee grandfather to the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Court on the 3rd, but the court issued a 'correction order' citing incomplete inheritance-related documents. The court plans to officially accept the trust deposit and decide on its acceptance once it deems the documents have been supplemented.

Before this, there were two cases registered with the foundation as the trustor: one at the Gwangju District Court and one at the Jeonju District Court. Grandmother Yang Geum-deok, a surviving victim, expressed refusal to accept the trust deposit, leading the Gwangju District Court to issue a 'non-acceptance decision.'

Earlier, the government announced on March 6 a third-party payment solution whereby the Foundation for Supporting Victims of Japanese Forced Mobilization would pay the judgment money and delayed interest for a total of 15 forced labor victims and their bereaved families who received a final compensation ruling from the Supreme Court in 2018, instead of the Japanese defendant companies. Since then, 11 of the 15 plaintiffs, including one surviving victim, have accepted this solution, but four plaintiffs?including two surviving victims, Grandmother Yang Geum-deok and Grandfather Lee Chun-sik, and two bereaved families of deceased victims, Grandfather Jeong Chang-hee and Grandmother Park Hae-ok?have refused to accept it, demanding participation in compensation by the Japanese companies.