Moon Says Japan Forced Labor Rulings Don't Violate 1965 Treaty
(Bloomberg) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that court rulings in Seoul requiring two Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during its colonial period don’t violate the country’s 1965 treaty with Japan.
Moon’s remarks challenge Tokyo’s views that those compensation claims from the 1910-45 era when Japan colonized Korea were settled when Japan and South Korea normalized their diplomatic relations 53 years ago. Moon’s office said in a statement that the comments came Friday during a meeting with Japanese lawmakers in Seoul.
The rulings have aggravated old wounds between the neighbors and U.S. allies, who were already sparring over compensation for South Korean women trafficked to Japanese army brothels and other “historical issues.” There are 15 similar cases pending brought by South Koreans who say they worked for 69 companies during the Japanese occupation, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Moon also told lawmakers who are part of Japan-South Korea parliamentarians’ union, including Fukushiro Nukaga of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, that the South Korean government would take the time to seek a solution on the issue. Japan believes the South Korean government, which accepted $300 million payment from Tokyo in 1965 that helped develop the economy, should compensate the victims, not the Japanese companies.
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