Forced Labor Victim Lee Chunsik Accepts 'Third-Party Payment'

The eldest son opposes... "Will verify who signed"

Mr. Lee Chunsik (104), a victim of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, has agreed to accept the compensation method of 'third-party payment.' However, some of his children have raised concerns about issues in the acceptance process.

According to the Foundation for Supporting Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Rule (hereafter the Foundation) on the 30th, Mr. Lee Chunsik received compensation and delayed interest from the Foundation this morning, following the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of forced labor victims. With this, all surviving victims who won two Supreme Court rulings in 2018 have accepted the 'third-party payment' method proposed by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in March last year as a solution to the forced labor dispute between Korea and Japan.

Grandfather Lee Chun-sik, a victim of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, is viewing the oral history photo exhibition of forced labor victims held in the lobby on the first floor of Gwangju City Hall in August last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Mr. Lee Chunsik was forcibly mobilized to the steelworks of 'Nippon Steel,' the predecessor of Shin Nippon Steel, in the 1940s, where he endured harsh labor under poor conditions. However, after Japan's defeat, he returned home without receiving wages. In October 2018, the Supreme Court recognized the liability of Japanese companies such as Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for damages related to forced labor, but the defendant companies' refusal to accept the ruling led to a deterioration in Korea-Japan relations.

The Korean government announced in March last year a solution involving 'third-party payment,' where the Foundation would pay the compensation owed by Japanese companies using funds it raised. The resources were based on 4 billion KRW donated by POSCO, one of the beneficiary companies under the 1965 Korea-Japan agreement.

Among the 15 plaintiffs who won the final Supreme Court ruling in October-November 2018, 11 accepted this solution. However, until recently, surviving victims Mr. Lee Chunsik and Ms. Yang Geumdeok (95) opposed this solution and refused to receive compensation. But following Ms. Yang Geumdeok's acceptance as the 12th person on the 23rd, and Mr. Lee Chunsik receiving compensation today, all three surviving victims at the time of the 2018 ruling who were alive when the third-party solution was announced have now accepted the 'third-party payment' method.

The bereaved families of the late Mr. Jeong Changhee (forcibly mobilized to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) and the late Ms. Park Haeok (forcibly mobilized to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) still refuse to receive compensation.

Lee Chang-hwan, the eldest son of grandfather Lee Chun-sik, is expressing his position at a press conference held in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 30th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Mr. Lee Chunsik's eldest son, Lee Changhwan, raised concerns. On the same day, he held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, stating, "I knew that some siblings had contacted the Foundation to discuss whether to accept the payment, but they were opposed," and added, "I was planning to go to Gwangju today to persuade my siblings, but I suddenly learned through the news that my father had already received the compensation."

He continued, "My father has been hospitalized in a nursing hospital due to old age and delirium, making normal communication difficult," and argued, "As his son, I cannot accept that he expressed consent to the 'third-party payment' to the Forced Mobilization Victims Support Foundation under these circumstances." He added, "We will promptly verify who signed and who received the money," and "We will also discuss whether it is possible to cancel this."