Staff writer

A group of South Koreans permanently residing in Japan has started a campaign to boost deposits at South Korean bank branches to help their economically battered homeland.

The Tokyo-based Korean Residents Union in Japan, known as Mindan, aims to have South Koreans in Japan deposit 12 billion yen by next March to help South Korea and to show their sense of unity with their compatriots.

Mindan claims a membership of some 500,000, many of whom are descendants of Koreans who were brought to Japan during the Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945. They were born and raised in Japan but hold South Korean nationality.

The 12 billion yen target was decided on the basis of 120,000 member households contributing 100,000 yen each, a Mindan official said. Kicking off the campaign Monday, Tokyo-based employees of Shinhan Bank, a major commercial bank in South Korea, visited Mindan's head office to accept deposits. Some 30 Mindan officials opened accounts and deposited a total 20 million yen, according to the bank, with most deposits having maturities of six months or a year.

"I am impressed by the move," a bank official said. "Even if the target is reached, the amount of deposits is not large. But I hope it will encourage South Koreans to put more emphasis on saving instead of consuming."

Mindan's prefectural offices across the country are expected to join the campaign soon. In the past, pro-Seoul Koreans in Japan have sent donations worth billions of yen to South Korea following natural disasters and for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, according to Mindan.

This is the first time for the group to extend aid in the form of deposits in foreign currencies. The campaign is a demonstration of solidarity between Korean residents of Japan and compatriots back home, Mindan said.

"Getting assistance from their compatriots overseas may help those in South Korea do some soul-searching," said Cho Sung Jun, director of Mindan's registration bureau. "This can offer them an opportunity to think of the country's development ahead of personal benefits."