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3w ago

South Korean Business Groups Strengthen Wartime Forced Labor Compensation Fund with $2.1M Donation

New contributions from major business lobbies and POSCO bolster South Korea's independent reparations framework for victims of Japan's colonial-era forced labor.

Japanese civic groups and family members of Lee Chun-sik, a late Korean victim of Japan's wartime forced labor, hold a rally in Tokyo calling for Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel to apologize to the victims and compensate them for the forced mobilization, in this photo taken April 12, 2025, as provided by the Seoul-based Center for Historical Truth and Justice. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Korean Industries each donated 1.5 billion won ($1.05 million) to the Japanese Forced Mobilization Victims Support Foundation.
  • South Korea's steel giant POSCO also contributed significantly with a 6 billion won donation to the compensation fund.
  • These contributions enhance the foundation's ability to provide reparations to victims, ensuring a stable funding structure independent of Japanese monetary contributions.
  • The foundation was originally established in 2014 under former President Park Geun-hye to manage payments based on Supreme Court rulings holding Japanese companies accountable.
  • The Yoon Suk Yeol administration's 2023 decision to independently fund reparations has improved bilateral relations with Japan, though no voluntary contributions have been received from Japanese firms.