Uri Party Includes Pro-Japanese Activities Before Protectorate Treaty of 1905 Into Its Investigation

It has been reported that the ruling Uri Party will include pro-Japanese activities before the Protectorate Treaty of 1905, which gave Japan virtual control over Korea, in its investigation of reviewing past history.

While amending a special law about investigating pro-Japanese activities in the past, the ruling Uri Party decided to change a clause that stipulates the investigation is limited to before and during Japanese colonial rule to cover a larger timeframe that will include when the nation’s sovereignty was stolen by Japanese imperialists and during Japanese colonial rule. As a result, this will be used as legal grounds for investigating pro-Japanese activities before and after the treaty of 1905.

In addition to it, the ruling Uri Party has divided the period for investigation on past history into three parts: pro-Japanese activities during Japanese colonial rule and when the nation’s sovereignty was stolen, the massacre of innocent people during the Korean War, and human rights violations committed by authoritarian rule after the 5.16 military coup in 1961.

Min-Hyuk Park mhpark@donga.com