Yoon: Forced labor plan crucial for better ties with Japan

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday defended his government’s contentious plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II, saying it’s crucial for Seoul to build future-oriented ties with its former colonial overlord.

Yoon said it resulted from government efforts to “respect the positions of victims while also seeking ways that would align with the common interests and future development of both South Korea and Japan.”

The plan aims to solve a yearslong impasse with Japan and solidify security cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington to better cope with North Korea’s nuclear threats and counter China’s regional influence. But it has met fierce opposition from forced labor victims, their supporters, and liberal opposition politicians, who have called it a diplomatic surrender and demanded direct payments and a fresh apology from Japan over the issue.

The plan announced Monday would offer reparations through a state-run foundation to a group of forced labor victims who had won landmark lawsuits against their former Japanese employers.

Japan has insisted all compensation issues were settled by the 1965 treaty that normalized relations between the two countries after it had colonized the Korean Peninsula for 35 years until the end of World War II.