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Korean nuke victims denied state compensation

June 26, 2015

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) — A court ruled Friday that South Korea is not obligated to compensate its victims of the Hiroshima and Nakasaki atomic bombings who had been denied reparations from Japan.

In the first move of its kind, nearly 80 victims brought a damages claim against the South Korean government in 2013. They represented more than 2,600 others and asked for compensation of 10 million won (US$8,960) each.

Their move followed a Constitutional Court ruling in 2011 that called South Korea’s lack of diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue “unconstitutional.”

Following the ruling, the Foreign Ministry created a task force and advisory panel to aid its diplomatic campaign to engage Japan in the conversation. But Japan has snubbed all invitations for talks over the matter.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court essentially said Japan’s unresponsiveness was not the fault of the South Korean government.

“There are many issues that need to be resolved between South Korea and Japan diplomatically, including Japan’s wartime sex slavery and its forced recruitment of Korean people for labor during World War II,” Judge Yun Kang-yeol said. “Just because Japan hasn’t responded to South Korea’s calls for negotiation doesn’t mean South Korea bears all the responsibility to take the next course of action.”

“The next course of action” in this context means bringing the issue to an arbitrator, as stated in the 1965 normalization treaty between South Korea and Japan.

The treaty calls for diplomatic efforts first in trying to resolve issues arising from the interpretation of the treaty. But if this fails, the dispute may undergo an arbitral proceeding, according to the treaty.

The victims said Friday’s ruling contradicted the Constitutional Court ruling in 2011.

“South Korea is ignoring us helpless victims who were forcibly conscripted or drafted for labor by the Japanese and were hit by atomic bombs,” Seong Nak-gu, head of the victims’ coalition, said.

Choi Bong-tae, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the victims had been denied compensation by both the Japanese and South Korean governments.

“So where exactly should we seek compensation?” he said.

South Korea was Japan’s colony from 1910-1945.

Many of the Korean victims of the nuclear bombings in the Japanese prefectures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been forced to work for Japanese firms to produce war supplies.

The bombings in 1945 essentially ended World War II and emancipated Korea from Japan’s occupation.