hankyoreh

Former forced laborers and their advocates protest strongly during an open debate held at the National Assembly on Jan. 12 on resolutions for the issue of settlement in the case of Japan’s forced wartime mobilization of Korean laborers. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

A public debate held at the National Assembly on Thursday to discuss the solution to Japan’s forced labor mobilization deteriorated into a shouting match in which the words of panelists and shouts of protesters became hard to make out.

After Seo Min-jung, the director for Asian and Pacific affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced the plan for third-party compensation, Kim Young-hwan, head of the Center for Historical Truth and Justice, and lawyer Lim Jae-sung, who is representing the victims, point by point criticized all that was wrong with the proposal. Their words were met with various cheers of support and applause from the audience, while victims who agreed with the proposal booed.

Some victims not participating in lawsuits against the culpable Japanese companies believe that there will be no way to be compensated if the Supreme Court judges that the assets of companies guilty of war crimes should get cashed out.

These victims put up a banner at the public debate reading “Are the 15 people the only victims?” referring to the 15 victims named as plaintiffs in the court battle.

“We should not expect Japan to apologize or to participate in the compensation,” argued Park Hong-kyu, a professor at Korea University. He was met with shouts of “traitor,” as former forced laborers screamed in anger.

When lawyer Choi Woo-kyun explained the government’s legal principle that domestic companies who have the right of appeal replace compensation on behalf of the Japanese companies in question, the victims fought back by saying that “forced labor is different.” Choi ended up not being able to finish his speech during the debate.

When the microphone was handed to the audience, the hall became even rowdier.

A victim who sided with the government haphazardly introduced Park Chung-hee’s remarks made at the 1965 Agreement Between Japan and the Republic of Korea Concerning the Settlement of Problems in Regard to Property and Claims and Economic Cooperation, causing the opposition to protest strongly, which made the organizers wrap the two-hour long debate by saying that it was difficult to proceed as normal.

The interrupted speaker threw the microphone away and other participants jumped onto the podium to protest.

The victims also raised their voices outside the debate.

Prior to the debate on Thursday, the Campaign for Peace and Historical Justice for South Korea and Japan, various civic groups, Kim Sang-hee, Nam In-soon, Yang Ki-dae, and Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party; Kang Eun-mi of the Justice Party and independents Kim Hong-gul and Yoon Mi-hyang held an emergency press conference in front of the National Assembly building to criticize the Yoon administration’s compensation plan.

Lee Guk-eon, chairperson of the Citizens Association on Imperial Japan’s Labor Mobilization, who refused to participate in the public debate, calling it a “flop,” passed on a statement made by former forced laborer Yang Geum-deok:

“If all I wanted was money, I wouldn’t be doing this. Mitsubishi should apologize and compensate. If someone else does it for them, what does that make me? How much will they laugh?”

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

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