politics

Tokyo protests S Korean court order to sell assets for WWII compensation

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Japan has repeatedly apologized and paid for its war crimes, yet South Korea denies that it paid and indoctrinates its children to hate Japan.

Just two years ago, people were refusing to refuel Japanese cars, harassing a US official for having a moustache similar to a Japanese general's, and trying to break into the Japanese embassy. The government threatened to scrap GSOMIA and lied about consulting the US. Its children drew pictures of Japan being nuked, and a district tried to make it mandatory to put stickers in classrooms that say “This device was made by a war criminal”. My classmates spit on me in high school for wanting to study in Japan. My own parents constantly reminded me what Japan did as if it happened yesterday instead of seventy years ago.

The self-victimization and self-righteousness make me ashamed to be Korean.

21 ( +31 / -10 )

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.

1965 this was settled, Korean people you need to ask your own government for money because the deal was already done and the Korean government already spent the money.

17 ( +21 / -4 )

Korea is always sad that Japan gets more attention than them. They are the jealous little brother acting out. Seems like they would have grown up by now, oh well.

15 ( +19 / -4 )

Good for Japan.

This is an outrageous and biased decision against Mitsubishi that has been made purely for political reasons, to capitalize on the general hatred of Japan by Koreans.

Dismiss the South Korean ambassador, and recall all Japanese diplomats from SK. Until the gov't reverses the ruling, no more diplomatic relations between Japan and SK please.

14 ( +27 / -13 )

A lot of Korean companies operating in Japan might find themselves subject to tax audits and other inspections and may encounter difficulties obtaining and renewing work visas.

14 ( +20 / -6 )

Stupid of Korea to try this. Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo and others will end up losing much more.

14 ( +20 / -6 )

Japan has allowed S. Korea to become the most Anti-Japan country on planet Earth!

How? ? ?

Constant apologies whenever S. Korea asked for. Over 55 given by 2021.

Compensation paid multiple times. 1965. 1990s, 2015. Many times for the same issue that should be covered from 1965 deal.

Agreements broken and we still have relations with S. Korea. We still do business.

No matter how nasty S. Korea got. No matter what they did. Always on special white list of friends. Only ones in Asia to benefit.

14 ( +19 / -5 )

Read the wording of the treaty. This is the full text of the treaty from the UN website.

https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20583/volume-583-I-8473-English.pdf

"Japan and the Republic of Korea, Desiring to settle [the] problem concerning property of the two countries and their nationals and claims between the two countries and their nationals ; and Desiring to promote the economic co-operation between the two countries ; Have agreed as follows : "

"Article II

The Contracting Parties confirm that [the] problem concerning property, rights

*and interests of the two Contracting Parties* and their nationals (including juridical

*persons) and concerning claims between the Contracting Parties and their nationals,*

**i*ncluding those provided for in Article IV, paragraph (a) of the Treaty of Peace with*

Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on September 8, 1951, is settled completely

and finally."

The above text refutes your claim.

14 ( +16 / -2 )

RUSSIA AND USA devided Korea in half. Half a country, half a people. Do Koreans hate Russians and USA same as Japan??? Noo

Russia and USA strong would push back against S. Korean garbage.

North Korea attacked in the 50s, aggressive, killed S. Koreans, destroyed property. Try to take over.

N. Korea strong, push back against S. Korea all the time. Moon respects Kim more then Japan.

Do S. Koreans hate North as much as Japan?? Noo

CCP China helped N. Korea fight back, helped them remain a country.

Does S. Korea hate China the same way as Japan?? Noo

What do all this countries have in Common unlike Japan????

They would never let S. Korea get Away With It. THEY Would never let this country play this trash games back and forth.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

The 1965 treaty was designed specifically to prevent stuff like this. The court decision undermines the authority of the South Korean government.

Should Japanese companies exit South Korea? They will do their sums before deciding. Any that are making enough money to outweigh concerns over court cash grabs, will choose to stay. It is common when working in a foreign country to have to pay extra in legal bungs, tax demands and such like. This is just another of a long list of ways of bilking foreigners.

Although this is directed at Japan, it increases the perceived risk for any foreign company operating in South Korea, and places a question mark over any deal negotiated with the South Korean government. If a local court can effectively overturn an international treaty, how can anyone rely on such a treaty?

13 ( +16 / -3 )

The 1965 treaty was designed specifically to prevent stuff like this. The court decision undermines the authority of the South Korean government.

What the South Koreans are doing is a flagrant violation of the 1965 treaty tantamount to refuting it entirely. Japan would not be unjustified in recalling it's Ambassador from South Korea and expelling the South Korean Ambassador to Japan and declare that individual persona non grata.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Further information on Korea's duplicity in all this: "In January 2005, the Korean government disclosed 1,200 pages of diplomatic documents that recorded the proceeding of the (1965) treaty. The documents, kept secret for 40 years, recorded that the JAPANESE GOVERNMENT actually proposed to the Korean government to directly compensate individual victims but it was the Korean government which INSISTED that it would handle individual compensation to its citizens and then received the whole amount of grants on behalf of the victims."

Whoops, Korea! That's on YOU!

"South Korea AGREED to demand NO FURTHER compensation, either at the government or individual level, after receiving $800 million in grants and soft loans from Japan as compensation for its 1910–45 colonial rule in the treaty."

Double Whoops, Korea! You not only refused Japan's payments directly to the victims, and took responsiblity for that yourselves, but then also agreed to NEVER ask for more!

Korea looks extremely untrustworthy in all this, especially following the above devastating revelations its own promises that had been kept secret for more than 40 years! No wonder they kept it secret!

How many here think even 10% of Koreans know about this? I'm sure their history texts are just filled with it, right? lol.

13 ( +17 / -4 )

Koreans' households which are getting public assistance from the Japanese government are around 30,000. Provided that the average amount of a household is JPY150,000 per month, the total amount per month is JPY4.5 billion. (i.e. JPY54 billion = USD490 million per year)  I am not sure whether S. Korean people know this inconvenient truth or not. 

Anyway, Japan has been paying too much money to S. Korea for various assistances.

12 ( +19 / -7 )

Most of the things that Japan apologized to Korea for (conscripted soldiers/conscripted workers/comfort women) were actually done many years ago only to the Japanese.

In addition, about 90% of the testimonies of Koreans claiming to be victims of forced labor are false, and the remaining 10% are simple testimonies about their background.

・Why did so many Koreans try to smuggle themselves into Japan when the Korean War broke out?

・Why were there Koreans who started their own film companies and worked as film directors during the war?

・The Korean who testified that his father was a victim of forced labor said that both his father and mother were not given enough time to sleep and were not given proper food. At the same time, he testified that he was born there at the time, his siblings were attending school, and his family was living in the family room of the company housing. How can both of those things be true at the same time?

In addition, there are many pay slips that Korean workers received, and the fact that they received either appropriate salaries or more than Japanese workers has been proven.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

The Koreans are already known to have misused more than three irrelevant photos as evidence of the working conditions of Korean forced laborers in this case. Moreover, if we exclude those photos, there is not a single photo that shows the working environment at that time.

This means that the photos they are using as evidence of damage are 100% fake evidence.

They are all frauds, I must say.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

quercentum, paying Danegeld never works out well.

While the Japanese behaviour in Korea and other invaded territories was without question appalling, in this case I fear Korea is in the wrong. The agreement between the sovereign states was clearly intended by both parties to be a final settlement of the issue and seeking to find weasel words to wriggle out of it does not shine a good light on Korea or its international reputation, which it relies upon to trade as an exporting economy. The fact that the Korean government of the time chose to spend the money them selves rather than pay it to the victims it was intended to compensate and the victims now feel they have never been compensated or their victimhood acknowledge is due to the actions of the Korean government.

Continually raking up the past, teaching hate and manipulating the history for petty political advantage is despicable and ultimately self defeating. And that applies to Japan as well as Korea.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

Absolutely. The above poster is 100% correct about the treaty.

South Korea ALREADY SIGNED AWAY THEIR RIGHTS to further compensation in the Treaty on Basic Relations between the two countries, in 1965. You can't pretend that Japan didn't throw a ton of money at Korea post-war, and that Korea didn't spend all that Japanese money...just to get more today!

Key words for me in this TREATY are these: "Article II: The High Contracting Parties CONFIRM that the problems concerning property, rights and interests between the...parties and their peoples, and the CLAIMS...have been SETTLED COMPLETELY AND FINALLY."

End of Story.

Suddenly, some Korean court violates a bilateral treaty with local laws. That is OUTRAGEOUS and UNACCEPTABLE. But I hasten to add: It's Typical Korea!

11 ( +14 / -3 )

No. Article III of the treaty describes in detail a dispute resolution process. For Japan the best course of action I believe is to adhere to the treaty strictly and take all the steps spelled out in Article III. Read Article III in the link I provided above to see what the process is. Adhere to the treaty, follow the process to the end.

Except that SK ignored and rejected Japan's proposal to take the steps stipulated in Article III

11 ( +11 / -0 )

So we are talking $350,000. Are these trademarks and patents that apply in Korea only? That must be the case. Korea has no jurisdiction outside of its own country.

If thats the case, its small beer, but its obviously not going to go down well and the economic fallout could be far larger than in the long run

10 ( +15 / -5 )

Korean companies in Japan should be seized and assets sold to recoup losses incurred by Mitsubishi

10 ( +17 / -7 )

Just seize some assets from Korean companies operating in Japan, will get them to change their minds pretty quickly

No. Article III of the treaty describes in detail a dispute resolution process. For Japan the best course of action I believe is to adhere to the treaty strictly and take all the steps spelled out in Article III. Read Article III in the link I provided above to see what the process is. Adhere to the treaty, follow the process to the end.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

I’d been hoping that the Koreans would one day come to their senses but they didn’t. Now it’s time for Japan to retaliate by seizing Korean assets here.

9 ( +17 / -8 )

Japan should simply do as the Chinese would do you slap me I slap you back! You take my property I take yours!

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Its been a good 80 years since the start of WWII. When are we going to move on? 100 years? 120years? I have a feeling that this is going to continue long after the last person born in 1945 dies. Are countries still giving out compensation for things that happened as a result of WWI? Then again, I here some people talking about slave reparations for African Americans. No, this isn't going to end.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Korean separation of powers should be registered at the Guinness or at the UN World Heritage Site as the most weird example

8 ( +13 / -5 )

Just seize some assets from Korean companies operating in Japan, will get them to change their minds pretty quickly.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Japan should just build a Mitsubishi missile both north n south josan will behave then words wont help here they have used salami slicing tactic with japan for a long time time to let them know the whole free aid receiving era if gone now

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Ingvar

Toyota sells very few vehicles in Korea actually.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Boy oh Boy, a never ending saga.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Stupid of Korea to try this. Samsung, Hyundai, Daewoo and others will end up losing much more.

How much business do they have in Japan compared to how much business Toyota, Sony, Mitsubishi and etc have in Korea?

Korean companies in Japan should be seized and assets sold to recoup losses incurred by Mitsubishi

Good idea. Japanese based corporations probably have a few 100 times more assets in South Korea than South Korea based corporations have in Japan.

This can't go unanswered but in the event of an asset seizing competition, Japan will lose badly.

-10 ( +6 / -16 )

Politics! They know that in order to save their asses the most efficient way is to foment the irrational nationalists (they'll do a good job for you) and go to war against another country. Bush, Thatcher and so many others did exactly that and they were very successfull politizing on nationalism to save their asses

-11 ( +1 / -12 )

separation of powers

You don't seriously believe "separation of powers" exists in Japan or anywhere else when it doesn't suit state power, do you? If so, I have a bridge to sell you in Busan.

-11 ( +6 / -17 )

@GBR48

The 1965 treaty was designed specifically to prevent stuff like this.

The 1965 treaty is the root cause of this damages conflict. Had Japanese negotiators accepted Korean proposal to include the word "damages" in the covered scope of treaty, this whole disputes wouldn't have arisen.

Instead, Japanese negotiators decided to exclude the word damages and left Japan exposed to future damages claims. 

If a local court can effectively overturn an international treaty

It didn't. They can only render judgement on damages case; unpaid wages claims are dismissed per the text of treaty.

-13 ( +3 / -16 )

The proceeds are expected to raise enough to pay each victim around 209 million won (U.S.$176,700) in compensation and interest, it said.

Great precedent! should be done with a whole host of companies including any related to the family of Aso Taro and Abe Shinzo, Minamata and Fukushima disasters, and other environmental disasters as well. only when the penalties are punitive (as with most other criminal charges) will companies be motivated to change their behavior.

-14 ( +5 / -19 )

Nice thoughts, but the U.S. would be the worst choice. South Korea was established as a "banana" republic after the war, using the old colonial Japanese and turncoat Koreans who ruled Korea after annexation. Ironically the U.S. shunned the liberators of Korea and sided with the ex-colonialists.

Considering the damage Japan did to Korea Japan should pay up and shut up.

-14 ( +3 / -17 )

Japan needs to do what it takes to settle this once and for all. Whenever this point is raised, the response has been a crying list of what you have done. Forget about what you have done. Do what you need to do from here on out. Do what it takes to put the past in the past. If it takes only $300,000 then you’re getting a good deal. if it takes more, settle it.

Take care of the laborers as if they’re your citizens. Treat others as if they are yourself. Take the high road.

The self-victimization and self-righteousness make me ashamed to be Korean.

You sure you’re not a Japanese pretending to be Korean?

-15 ( +5 / -20 )

Fair play South Korea. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

-15 ( +5 / -20 )

RUSSIA AND USA devided Korea in half. Half a country, half a people. Do Koreans hate Russians and USA same as Japan??? 

The method that’s most effective in this country is self reflection 反省する。

Why don’t Koreans hate Americans or Russians, after all they are the ones who tore Korea into two?” is not the question.

The question the Japanese need to ask is why Koreans seem to hate us Japanese more though we weren’t the ones who directly caused the split.

Why do you think so? What did Japan do that cause Koreans to still harbor such strong emotions?

What can Japan do to restore good will? What will it take to do that?

-15 ( +1 / -16 )

Please pay up.

-16 ( +5 / -21 )

hile the Japanese behaviour in Korea and other invaded territories was without question appalling, in this case I fear Korea is in the wrong.

It’s not about right or wrong anymore but doing what it takes to put this behind the two countries, which is to sit down and negotiate. As soon as you say this, the response is but we’ve done that. Look ahead not at what you’ve done but what you can do from here on out.

Reach out to a third party. The US would be the natural and best choice.

-16 ( +1 / -17 )

Some Q&A is necessary for many to understand the situation

Q. Aren't forced laborers compensation cases settled by the 1965 Treaty?

A. The 1965 Treaty only covers assets, such as properties, wages, and bank deposits, left at each other's territory. The 1965 Treaty doesn't cover damages resulting from "Illegal forced conscription of labor by Imperial Japan", because Japanese negotiators refused to acknowledge the illegality of Imperial Japanese government's actions and refused Korean offer to include the word "Damages" in the treaty text because including it in the treaty text would mean Japan admitting to wrongdoings. Had Japan accepted the Korean offer in 1965, then this whole damages dispute wouldn't have arose.

Q. Why do Koreans claim damages and Japan deny any damages have occurred?

A. Koreans claim the 1910 Annexation Treaty was illegal, null, and void from the moment it was signed, hence all Japanese actions from 1910 and onward was illegal and Japan is held liable for all damages resulting from its illegal occupation of Korea. Japan claims the 1910 Annexation Treaty was legal and valid, hence any wartime conscription imposed on Koreans were legal as they were "Japanese citizens" during WW2.

Q. So who's right on the legality of 1910 Annexation Treaty?

A. The answer lies in the text of 1965 Treaty, which states that the "1910 Annexation Treaty was already null and void", even though neither side took any action to nullify the 1910 Treaty. So the 1965 Treaty does support Korean legal position that the 1910 Annexation Treaty was null and void from the start, which then exposes Japan to all the damages resulting from Japan's rule.

-17 ( +2 / -19 )

What goes around comes around.

-18 ( +2 / -20 )

If Japan had a reasonable relationship with Russia and China, S Korea wouldn't dare such provocative actions. As is, why wouldn't S Korea do that? This is capitalism. If S Korea can steal from Japan and not face any consequences, it's only logical S Korea do that.

-20 ( +7 / -27 )

Due to the Japanese political 'elite's' slavish deference to the American occupation regime, even Japan's much smaller neighbors treat it with contempt.

-24 ( +6 / -30 )

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