▲ Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a press conference at the foreign ministry in Seoul on March 6, 2023, about the South Korean government's solution for addressing the issue of compensation for Japan's wartime forced labor. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

forced labor-legal obstacles

Forced labor compensation plan faces legal obstacles

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- The government's plan to compensate the victims of Japan's wartime forced labor with funds from domestic companies is facing legal obstacles that could result in new court battles over compensation.

The foreign ministry announced the measure Monday to resolve the long-standing dispute over the compensation for Korean people forced to work in Japan during World War II.

Under the plan, a public foundation funded by domestic companies that benefited from a 1965 normalization treaty between the two countries would provide payments to former forced laborers on behalf of responsible Japanese firms.

The foundation affiliated with the interior ministry will first compensate 14 people who won damages lawsuits in 2018 against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp.

The two companies refused to pay compensation and subsequently faced the risk of their assets in South Korea being liquidated.

The plan is based on a Civil Code clause that stipulates that in case a debtor refuses to pay, a third party who has a legal interest with the debtor may pay the debt.

If third-party reimbursement is made, the liability will be extinguished and any enforcement proceedings such as seizure or forced sale will be canceled.

However, third-party payment is impossible if the injured party refuses it.

Some victims and bereaved families have expressed their intent not to receive compensation without apologies from the Japanese government and companies, according to their legal representatives.

If they refuse the offer, the government could deposit the compensation money with the court.

But the plaintiffs still have the right to demand the compulsory disposal of the Japanese companies' assets in South Korea.

The lawyers said if the government deposits the fund, the plaintiffs will proceed to invalidate it.

Critics also doubt whether the government-affiliated foundation can be deemed a legitimate third party that can pay on behalf of the debtor.

Under the Civil Code, the third party must have a legal interest with the debtor.

South Korean companies have no legal relation with Japanese companies.

The foreign ministry interprets that if the payment is made, the government will have a right to indemnity against Japanese companies, which would constitute a legal interest between the two sides.

However, the ministry has also made clear that South Korea will not exercise the right.

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