The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade released portions of the Korea-Japan treaty of 1965 on Monday. In the documents made public you see, in full, the dirty behavior of both governments at the time. Decades later, the treaty remains the source of suffering by many.
Korea's military regime went to the Japanese invoking the right of Koreans to make claims for damage done during Japanese colonial occupation. It received W360 million from Japan, but only one tenth of that actually went to victims with claims. The details of the negotiations were not disclosed, and there was no mention of compensation expressly for the forced occupation. Put simply, a regime with weak legitimacy deceived the people and engaged in humiliating, hastily concluded negotiations.
The Japanese avoided using the term "claims," and stubbornly insisted that the money was "economic cooperation funds." Forget about any remorse about colonial rule – it showed no interest whatsoever in the civil rights of the victims. Later, however, when victims started filing their own lawsuits for compensation, it would dodge the issue by saying that any claims to be made were resolved by that very same treaty.
As parties to the illicit union that treat was at the time, both countries' governments need to issue an open apology to the victims. Naturally, all documents from and relating to the negotiations must be made public at the soonest date possible, just as there should be clarification of the legal questions about the qualifications and scope of the right to file claims. The Korean government needs to commence in a detailed inquiry into damages relating to the colonial occupation and get actively engaged in coping with the legitimate claims that victims have been making.
In addition, the government needs to support victims individual claim lawsuits against the Japanese government and Japanese corporations to the greatest extent possible, all the more so in the case of former "Comfort Women," an issue that wasn't even mentioned in the treaty talks. The possibility of seeking a renegotiation or additional negotiations must not be excluded if, after all documents have been made public and they have been undergone a comprehensive evaluation, it is found that there were clear problems in the contents or procedures of the treaty negotiations.
The clearest solution would be for the Japanese government to directly compensate victims and their families and carry out humanitarian support measures. Things would go most smoothly if it were approached through a format that included a joint statement by North and South Korea and Japan.
The Hankyoreh, 18 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Colonial Victims' Claims Just Getting Started |
