英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun July 13, 2013
Seoul court ruling on damages defies 1965 Japan-ROK accord
ソウル不当判決　日韓合意に反する賠償命令だ（7月12日付・読売社説）

A South Korean court has handed down a ruling that could worsen relations with Japan. It was an unjust decision.
　日韓関係の一層の悪化につながりかねない。不当な判決である。

In an appellate case sent back from the Supreme Court, which involved four South Koreans seeking compensation for damages from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., a descendant of the companies they had been forced to work for during wartime, the Seoul High Court ordered payment of 100 million won (about 8.8 million yen) to each of the plaintiffs.
　戦時中、日本企業に徴用された韓国人４人が、当時の勤務先の流れをくむ新日鉄住金に損害賠償を求めた訴訟の差し戻し控訴審で、韓国のソウル高裁は、１人当たり１億ウォン（約８８０万円）の賠償を命じる判決を言い渡した。

This is the first time that a South Korean court has ordered a Japanese firm to pay damages to former forced laborers.
　韓国司法が、日本企業に対し、元徴用工への賠償支払い命令を出したのは初めてのことだ。

The ruling is totally unacceptable because it obviously violates the agreement on property claims and economic cooperation that was reached when the two countries concluded a treaty to normalize relations in 1965. The accord clearly stated that the issue of property claims was “resolved completely and finally.”
　今回の判決が容認できないのは、１９６５年の国交正常化の際に日韓両国が締結した財産請求権・経済協力協定に明らかに反しているからだ。協定は、請求権問題が「完全かつ最終的に解決された」と断じている。

In its 1976 white paper on funds deriving from property claims, South Korea’s Economic Planning Board listed construction of a steelmaking plant, dams and highways as concrete examples of how $500 million in grants and other funds the country received from Japan in the name of economic cooperation had been used. The white paper clearly stated that “its usefulness cannot be belittled.”
　韓国経済企画院は１９７６年の「請求権資金白書」で、無償・有償あわせて５億ドルの日本からの経済協力について、製鉄所やダム、高速道路の建設を具体的な使途に挙げた。その上で、「効用を過小評価できない」と明記した。

Erroneous judgment

Nevertheless, South Korea’s Supreme Court said in a May 2012 ruling that “claims by individuals have not yet expired.” The current ruling is based on that erroneous judgment.
　それにもかかわらず、韓国最高裁は２０１２年５月、「個人の請求権は消滅していない」とする判断を示した。今回の判決はこの誤った判断を踏まえたものだ。

Some of the plaintiffs filed a similar suit in Japan but their loss was finalized by a Supreme Court decision.
　原告の一部は日本でも提訴し、最高裁で敗訴が確定している。

The Seoul High Court’s decision this time demonstrates disregard for the final decision in this country. It is natural that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “We cannot accept a decision that doesn’t comport with Japan’s position.”
　結果として、日本の確定判決が無視されたことになる。菅官房長官が、「日本の立場に相いれない判決であれば、容認できない」と述べたのも当然である。

There are five other similar lawsuits filed against Japanese firms. The latest decision will inevitably have an influence on future court rulings. It is feared that more South Koreans who were once forced laborers will file class action suits, causing new problems between the two countries.
　日本企業を相手取った同様の裁判が他に５件ある。今後の判決への影響は避けられまい。元徴用工らによる集団訴訟が相次ぐ恐れもある。日韓の新たな懸案だ。

In the first place, the South Korean government itself is obliged to pay compensation for damages suffered by South Koreans during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The $300 million Japan paid in grants to South Korea contained “the funds to resolve the compensation over forcible recruitment.”
　そもそも、植民地統治に起因する韓国人の補償請求については、支払い義務は韓国政府にある。日本が供与した無償資金３億ドルには「強制動員の被害の補償を解決する資金」が含まれている。

Because the South Korean government did not sufficiently pay out this compensation money, dissatisfaction has been smoldering among many South Koreans who were excluded from compensation for individuals.
　韓国政府の支払いが不十分で、個人補償の対象から除外された人々が多かったために、不満はくすぶり続けていた。

Moreover, the South Korean government has failed to give sufficient explanations to its own people.
　韓国政府が国民に十分な説明をしなかったのが一因だろう。

Fostering ill will

As Seoul has intensified antagonism against Tokyo in recent years, over topics such as sovereignty over the Takeshima islets and perceptions of history, unfounded demands against Japan have been flaring up again.
　近年、竹島や歴史認識を巡る対立が深まるにつれ、根拠が薄弱な日本への要求も再燃している。

A sudden shift by the South Korean judiciary from its conventional stance is not completely unrelated to the rise of anti-Japan sentiment in the country.
　韓国司法が最近、従来の判断から急転換したのも、そうした反日の高まりと無縁ではあるまい。

The normalization of bilateral relations opened the way to tremendous progress for South Korea. The financial resolution of damages from the past was determined diplomatically and is fundamentally a matter to be dealt with domestically in that country. It is unreasonable that South Korea persistently continues to point its accusing finger at Japan.
　日韓国交正常化は韓国の飛躍につながった。過去の清算は外交的に決着し、本来は韓国の内政問題だ。その矛先を執拗(しつよう)に日本に向けるのは筋違いである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 12, 2013)
（2013年7月12日01時26分 読売新聞）