SEOUL -- A South Korean independent lawmaker proposed a bill to its National Assembly on Monday to resolve a lawsuit filed by former laborers from the Korean Peninsula.
The bill was scrapped in May without deliberation but has since been reintroduced.
The main content of this bill is the use of donations from companies and individuals in Japan and South Korea as a means of providing "consolation money" to former laborers.
The bill also states that the former laborers must waive their right to claim compensation from the companies if they accept the money. This could avert the liability of Japanese companies that lost the case in the South Korean Supreme Court in 2018.
A court in South Korea decided on June 1 to convey via publication the seizure of Japanese companies' assets, raising the possibility that the liquidation process will proceed after August.
The bill scrapped in May was jointly proposed by a former speaker of the National Assembly, who belongs to the ruling Democratic Party, and other lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties.
The content of the bill proposed this month is the same as the scrapped bill, however, none of those proposing it are from the ruling party.
It is uncertain whether the bill will be passed into law because there is a strong view that the administration of President Moon Jae-in has a negative attitude toward the bill.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
