By The Korean women who worked as laborers in Japan during World War II and were recently paid 99 yen in compensation, now have a support group protesting Japanese industry within Korea:
Members of a support group for South Korean women who had been forced to serve in the women’s labor corps during World War II held a press conference in front of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries auto display center in Gwangju City to urge the Japanese government to reexamine its decision to pay 99 Yen in response to their administrative lawsuit for pension compensation, Jan. 4.
A representative said, “Our lawyers will be asking the Japanese government to reexamine the cases by Jan. 15.” They added, “If the Japanese government rejects this request, we will file a case regarding this issue.” Yang Geum-deok, who had served in the women labor corps in Japan during World War II and is now 81-years-old, made a gesture to return the 99 Yen to the Japanese government and said, “If the Japanese government was a sensible one, it would not have given me this pittance.”
Lee Kuk-eon, head of the support group, said, “99 Yen during the colonial period was able to cover the cost of buying two calves, however, now it only allows us to buy two packages of ramen.” He added, “The Japanese government’s behavior belittles the plaintiffs, and it should recalculate its currency’s value.” [Hankyoreh]
I still don’t get what the Japanese government was thinking sending these women 99 yen checks. That is a real slap in the face that I haven’t seen adequately explained yet. Talk about a public relations disaster. However, it seems like these protesters would have a better chance at receiving compensation for these women by legally going after the Japanese companies they were working for at the time or the Korean government, which waved all Korean compensation claims with the 1965 Normalization Treaty with Japan. I seriously doubt the Japanese government is going provide any more compensation than what they already have.
1:51 pm on January 5th, 2010 1
GI Korea, what did you think about my Godfather deal that Japan could make?
3:00 pm on January 5th, 2010 2
For those wondering this is the posting The Korean is referring to:
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2009/12/ask-korean…
I would love to see the Korea-Japan relationship move forward with some kind of grand bargain but I don't think your suggestions will ever happen. First of all I would keep the Dokdo issue out of it because that has more to do with other issues than anything in regards to the colonial period:
http://rokdrop.com/2009/09/01/dokdo-racers-claim-…
I don't claim to be an expert on Japan but from my experiences talking with people in Japan to include family that live there on my wife's side, they do understand that they have a very bad past, but many Japanese feel like their history is made to be worse than it really was by other countries. This is true to an extent but there are still plenty of old Yasukuni types that think they did the Asian countries a favor during World War II by freeing them from European colonization. So there is a lot of BS all around but bottom line is Japan did some bad things in the early 20th century which the majority of Japanese are not ignorant of.
However many people feel having their country leveled with fire bombings and two atomic bombs was also a form of retribution for what happened during World War II which no one compensated them for. They also feel Park Chung-hee settled the compensation claims with Korea with the 1965 normalization treaty and that complaints for compensation should be directed towards the Korean government instead of Japan. There is also a sense with many Japanese that no matter what they do it will not be good enough for either the Koreans or Chinese due to political reasons. Japan makes a good punching bag to divert domestic attention when needed.
So I think starting small with something like the war crimes museum you mentioned is the way to go and build off of that because I just don't see anyway a grand bargain could ever get done.
3:35 pm on January 5th, 2010 3
Thanks GI. I agree with pretty much everything you said.
One question though, because I am really ignorant of what goes on in Japan — does anyone bring up what Germany did in reparation? Or is it the case that the Japanese feel either that their crimes are not as bad as Germany's or that the retribution they received (particular the nukes) was more severe?
3:58 pm on January 5th, 2010 4
"which waved all Korean compensation claims with the 1965 Normalization Treaty with Japan."
Now that's where you're wrong. The Japanese court has ruled that the above women's compensation claims is not part of the 1965 treaty so therefore the women deserve payment. That was their ruling after deliberating for 11 years, as the Korean above in his site has mentioned. You cannot use the 1965 treaty, as it will be used inevitably by the knew jerk anti Korean expats here and other sites, in this case. Because the Japanese court itself has just admitted that these women got cheated. The case was won by these women. The slap is the amount of the settlement – a dollar for each women. That is an insult, and I don't care how much you want to argue for Japan, just for the sake of trashing on Korea, you CANNOT DEFEND THIS ACTION BY JAPAN.
5:02 pm on January 5th, 2010 5
If he was defending it, he wouldn't have posted it Tom. Take your meds.
7:35 pm on January 5th, 2010 6
Tom
Do you have a source for you Japanese Court ruling against the 1965 ruling? Would like to have it, it would make for an interesting read, considering that according to
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/20050…
It would seem that the Government (RoK) sold out it's only people.
It's really unfortunate that these atrocities took place across all of asia during WWII. I like "The Korean" war crimes museum to cover all of the country affected by this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_atrocities
Don't think it'll help much demonstrating against a single japanese company.
11:04 pm on January 5th, 2010 7
"but many Japanese feel like their history is made to be worse than it really was by other countries"
Denial. It's as bad as they say. Trust me, some of my father's friends when were survivors of Japanese prisoner of war camps. I've heard the stories.
12:03 am on January 6th, 2010 8
Again, why are you bringing up the 1965 treaty, when it has no bearing on this case? Once again, the Japanese court has ruled the 1965 treaty does not apply to these forced laborers. The Japanese government admitted that these women were forced laborers who deserve their back pay, and that the 1965 treaty does not nullify their claims. That was the Japanese court's decision after 11 years of deliberation. So for expats to continue to bring this treaty up to dismiss these women's claims, while the Japanese themselves have admitted to their guilt… tells you something.
If you want to learn about the 1965 treaty, google it, there's nothing hidden, everything is upfront for everyone to view. Many Korean sources have covered the subject in depth. The Korean governments have always stuck to the treaty in 1965. That is why the Korean government has never officially asked for war compensation from Japan after 1965. But that does not mean the Korean government can prevent individual Koreans from making claims in Japan.
12:08 am on January 6th, 2010 9
I wasn't necessarily talking about GI Korea. I was more talking about 95% of expats in Korea who will side with the Japanese right wing version of history.
2:08 am on January 6th, 2010 10
Here is Article II, Paragraph 1
"The High Contracting Parties confirm that the problems concerning property, rights, and interests of the two High Contracting Parties and their peoples (including juridical persons) and the claims between the High Contracting Parties and between their peoples, including those stipulated in Article IV(a) of the Peace Treaty with Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, have been settled completely and finally."
Note it includes individual Koreans and Japanese. Also, property in the legal sense includes more than just land and includes monetary compensation for labor.
I really wish this wasn't the case, but it seems like the Japanese got this one right. At least they got it right from a strict legal view of the matter.
2:25 am on January 6th, 2010 11
I explain this more in detail in my post, but I am not sure if the 1965 treaty was ever legal, given that:
(1) Park Chung-Hee was a dictator who came to power through coup d'etat and rigged elections, therefore lacking legitimacy to represent Korea;
(2) Hundreds of thousands of Koreans protested against this treaty at that time, which was only quelled through martial law;
(3) Japan knew that Park was a dictator who came to power through illegal means but still dealt with him anyway.
The situation is really like this. Suppose A owes $1,000 to C. B ties up and gags C, and told A that he was C's representative. A knows that B is not a true representative of C, but negotiates with B anyway — while both A and B could hear C screaming, "No! No!!" A pays B $1, and B agrees with that amount. B buys a lottery ticket with that $1, and wins $100,000. B gives the $100,000 to C. Does B's action cancel A's obligation to C in the amount of $9,999? Of course not.
On a separate note, Korean government did pay what it was obligated to pay under the 1965 Treaty — twice, in fact. Once in 1975 (an appalling $300 per death) under Park and the other in 2006 under Roh Moo-Hyun. Link
2:26 am on January 6th, 2010 12
Shoot, A owes $10,000 to C….
2:36 am on January 6th, 2010 13
I think the different view of reparations between Japan and Germany can be explained by how the war ended and new eras began in each country. In the case of Japan, the government and imperial system essentially remained intact. The same institutions in Germany were completely obliterated. Since the post-war German government was completely new, they could view compensation as not admitting badness of their own but just correcting the wrongs of the "other" administration. Japan can't do this with a straight face.
5:32 am on January 6th, 2010 14
Lets unpack this:
1. Deals get cut with Park-like rulers all the time. Given that, there are rules about who is a legit national leader. He was legitimate enough.
2. People before and after President Park got their position through coups and screwy elections. From a Japanese perspective that could just be written of as how things were done.
3. Even if you get through that, there is an unjust enrichment issue. Japan transferred wealth and made deals under this agreement which they likely would not have done otherwise. This greatly helped Korea achieve the success it has and which has made life not so harsh for the former slave laborers.
6:18 am on January 6th, 2010 15
Below is my respectful dissent:
1. Stealing happens all the time. There are even rules about keeping what you stole, e.g. statute of limitations, adverse possession. That still does not make stealing legitimate.
Coup d'etat and rigged election make Park illegitimate, period. He never had any capacity to legitimately represent Korea.
2. It was well known that Korea was committed to democracy through its constitution. It was just as well known that Park did not become the leader of Korea through democratic means. For Japan to write it off (if it did) as "how things are" is irresponsible.
3. There is no unjust enrichment for Koreans. It is indisputable that Japan committed a wrong to Koreans. Japan already owed those Koreans a proper amount of compensation as a result of committing that wrong. The amount that Japan paid under the 1965 treaty not the proper amount, both because it dealt with a dictator who did not properly represent Koreans and because the absolute amount itself is just appallingly low in absolute terms, particularly compared to the compensation that its fellow criminal (Germany) has paid.
Going back to the example I gave, Japan owed Koreans $10,000, but ended up paying $1. There is nothing unjust about the fact that the $1 turned into $100,000 for Koreans. Nor does it affect the fact that Japan still owes $9,999. If there is any unjust enrichment, it is on the part of Japan because it did not fully pay what it owed.
12:50 pm on January 6th, 2010 16
Tom, what proof do you have that "95% of expats in Korea" happen to "side with the Japanese right wing version of history"?
10:48 pm on January 6th, 2010 17
I repeat, Tom, what proof do you have that “95% of expats in Korea” happen to “side with the Japanese right wing version of history”?
11:54 pm on January 6th, 2010 18
I wouldn't say denial many people in Japan know about the treatment of POW's and are not proud of it. But there is also a lot of the that was old business that I wasn't part of mentality as well IMO.
11:56 pm on January 6th, 2010 19
I never asked about views on German reparations so I really couldn't tell you what people think in regards to that issue.
5:07 am on January 7th, 2010 20
The Korean, my reasoning is strictly legal. You make good points from a moral standpoint. Personally, I think the Japanese (government, business, both, etc.) should compensate these people despite the law.
But there is one critical point which has been brought up. From what I have seen, no amount of money or apologies is going to make this go away. In light of that, why should the Japanese do anything other than what they are doing now?
6:53 am on January 7th, 2010 21
Chris, thanks for bearing with me. My day job is being an attorney. Based on that experience, I don't think my points are only moral — they all have legal grounds. For example, the example I gave with A, B and C is a simple hypothetical from agency law.
At any rate, I respectfully disagree with your point. Please take a look at my post to which GI Korea referred on the top of this thread. I think if Japan put forth that Godfather offer, it WILL actually make this whole thing go away at minimal cost to Japan. If nothing else, Japan will be able to claim a moral high ground. And because Japan is the party that committed the original wrong, the onus is upon them to act.
7:16 am on January 7th, 2010 22
You're that "The Korean"?? Hey, I will be sending you an email soon! Got some questions you may find interesting. You're an attorney? So am I. Its just my take. It is what it is.
I was wondering what this Godfather proposal was. Wow! That might help greatly.