Group unveils list of alleged pro-Japanese collaborators

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks from an official from the group, more details in paras 5-7)
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- A group of South Korean scholars on Sunday unveiled a
list of about 4,300 people that they say collaborated with Japan during its
colonization of the Korean Peninsula in the early half of the 20th century, a
divisive issue centered on anti-Japanese sentiment here.
The list includes former South Korean President Park Chung-hee, who served as an
officer in Japan's imperial army during the 1910-45 period but is credited with
South Korea's rise from poverty following the Korean War.
Ahn Eak-tai, who created South Korea's national anthem, and Choi Seung-hee, a
legendary dancer, are also among the 4,389 people listed in the three-volume,
3,000-page publication, the group said.
The list, which started to be compiled in 1994, has been the subject of intense
criticism from conservatives, who have branded it as a historical distortion
engineered by leftists.
"The book is only a reflection of our modern history and does not target any
specific individual. We believed our history would only be half true if we only
listed people's merits and not their mistakes," said Cho Se-yeol, secretary
general of the publishing group, Institute for Research in Collaborationist
Activities.
Cho said his group expresses deep regrets to the descendants of the people named
in the list, but insisted it was time for society to acknowledge its ancestors'
misdeeds and try to correct those wrongs.
The list also names 20 people who are currently on the long-list of national
honorees, most of whom are credited with aiding in the independence and
foundation of the country.
The Korean Peninsula was annexed by Japan in 1910 but liberated at the end of
World War II. Liberals here believe that Korean collaborators helped exploit
their compatriots and even root out the independence movement during the colonial
period.
The collaborators then managed to avoid being purged under the U.S. military that
replaced the Japanese rule as Washington needed them to counter the threat of
communist-led North Korea, they say.
Many South Koreans believe Japan has yet to fully apologize for its acts during
the colonial period, including the sexual enslavement of Korean women at
front-line brothels and harsh labor forced upon men.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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