One of 189 South Koreans seeking an official apology and redress from Japan for wartime conscription criticized the government Tuesday for compensating only Japanese and not Koreans who were similarly drafted as soldiers and civilian workers.
Speaking at the opening of their appeal session before the Tokyo High Court, Lee Gum Ju, 78, whose husband was drafted to serve in the Japanese military and died in action, said Japan treated more than 1 million South Koreans as expendable by drafting them during the war but then avoided paying them compensation afterward. Korea was under Japan's colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. The plaintiffs are seeking 6.75 billion yen.
Lee, head of the plaintiffs' group, whose members include families of ex-soldiers and workers, said Japan should pay individual compensation instead of claiming redress issues were settled through state-to-state agreements.
In December, the Tokyo District Court said the government is not obliged to pay compensation, though it recognized that the plaintiffs were taken to Japan and other parts of Asia after being drafted. The judge also urged the government to take legislative measures to compensate the claimants.