South Korea forced labor court ruling

Two recent legal rulings in South Korea are once again threatening to unravel the relationship.

For the first time in 12 years, the Japanese prime minister visited Seoul for a bilateral meeting with the South Korean president. 

Japan's Kishida and South Korea's Yoon are ready to mend relations, but both leaders face problems back home.

The long unresolved forced labor dispute nears closure, with South Korea deciding to shoulder victim compensation through donations. 

The Yoon administration's plan to resolve forced labor disputes with Japan is already sparking controversy at home.

Ties between the two U.S. Asian allies have long been complicated by grievances related to Japan's brutal rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Why are Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies and East Asian democracies, continuously at odds over everything from their territorial dispute to wartime labor compensation?

Yoon emphasized his support for “freedom” in a U.N. General Assembly address, but most attention focused on the dimming chances of a summit with Japan’s Kishida Fumio. 

With relatively new governments and a pressing threat from North Korea, the timing to renew Seoul and Tokyo ties is better now than it has been in years.

The Yoon administration has expressed a strong willingness to improve bilateral ties with Japan, but Tokyo seems unwilling to budge on the central issues. 

Park Jin became the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Tokyo since 2019.

With a new consultative body to address forced labor issues, the Yoon administration is seeking to prevent the issues that scuttled the 2015 "comfort women" agreement.

The Seoul Central District Court ruling might help lower temperatures, but a political solution is needed to improve South Korea’s relations with Japan.

The decision seemed to contradict 2018 Supreme Courts rulings against Japanese firms, which had enraged Tokyo.

The Biden administration must avoid the fundamental flaw of previous reparations arrangements: prioritizing state interests over victims’ concerns.

A spate of recent exchanges could be seen as an accomplishment in and of itself, but there has been little concrete progress toward a solution on the forced labor issue.

In fact, the agreement makes the path to resolution quite clear.

The talks were an attempt to unravel Japan’s export restrictions on South Korea, one facet of a larger chill in bilateral relations.

Japan and South Korea’s relationship hangs on a thread until talks resume at a high-level policy meeting later this month.

If the forced labor rulings are the hidden motivation, Tokyo’s actions are wildly disproportionate.

Tensions between Tokyo and Seoul show no signs of easing, with a political trade war escalating over historic grievances.

Japanese restrictions on high-tech exports to Korea are the latest manifestation of tensions linked to historical issues.

What will be the impact of the new wave of forced labor lawsuits in South Korea?

The move is short-sighted, given the importance of the Japan-South Korea relationship.