Son of colonial-era laborer files petition against Korea-Japan pact

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- The son of a South Korean forced into labor during
Japan's colonial regime filed a petition with the Constitutional Court seeking a
review of a bilateral pact that has served as the legal basis for prohibiting
compensation from Japan, court officials said Friday.

Japan forced hundreds of thousands of Koreans to work in coal mines and military
facilities in and outside of Japan in the later years of its 1910-45 colonial
occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
Seoul normalized ties with Tokyo in 1965 and also agreed to the Korea-Japan pact,
under which Tokyo paid US$500 million to Seoul with an attached clause declaring
that with the payment all compensation claims are "completely and conclusively"
resolved.
The accord has been cited by South Korean and Japanese courts to reject petitions
and damage suits filed by South Koreans seeking reparations for unpaid salaries
and other losses.
Lee Yoon-jae, whose father died during forced labor under the Japanese, demanded
the Constitutional Court review the article to determine whether it violates the
protection of individual property guaranteed by the Constitution.
Lee has lost a series of cases lodged with courts in South Korea and Japan
seeking unpaid wages for his father because of the bilateral treaty.
"The accord contravenes the Constitution because it bans individuals from
asserting their property rights against the Japanese government and (Japanese)
companies," Lee said in a statement submitted to the court.
Law experts say because South Korea's Constitution gives the same legal status to
international treaties as to domestic statutes, the Korea-Japan pact can be
reviewed by the country's Constitutional Court.
brk@yna.co.kr
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