A group of South Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor accused Seoul of rushing a compensation plan with Tokyo for diplomatic and political gains, amid a prolonged legal battle over the neighbors' tense history.
The two countries have been at odds over 2018 rulings by South Korea's Supreme Court that ordered Japanese firms to compensate some of the forced laborers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, though no payments have been made yet.
The South Korean government unveiled a plan last month to compensate the victims through its own public foundation — instead of using funds from Japanese companies, sparking an outcry from some victims and their families.