South Koreans demand Japan's government compensate for Siberia detention
A group of 164 South Koreans on June 12 filed a joint suit at the Tokyo District Court against the Japanese government demanding an apology and compensation for their abuse by the Imperial Japanese Army during WW II. They are former conscript soldiers of the Japanese Army and their bereaved families. They demand that the government pay 1.75 billion yen (150 million dollars) in compensation.
The plaintiffs include 31 former prisoners of war detained in Siberia by the former Soviet Union or their bereaved families.
The lawsuit is the first by South Korean detainees in Siberia. It is estimated that over 10,000 people from the Korean Peninsula, in addition to former Japanese Imperial Army soldiers, were taken prisoner by the former Soviet Union and put in internment camps in Siberia.
Lee Byoungju, president of the organization of South Korean detainees in Siberia, said, "We demand compensation money in back pay for our labor in Siberia, which is the fruit of our blood, tears, sweat and emotional suffering." (end)
