Detailed documents on forced laborers found in embassy

A large number of documents that were apparently written by the Korean government in the 1950s including the list of victims who were sent to forced labor during the Japanese colonial rule have been found. The newly found documents are said to be more detailed than previous documents and also include some new facts.

“We discovered dozens of documents in June while moving to a new embassy building in Tokyo, and transferred them to the National Archives of Korea under the Ministry of Security and Public Administration,” a government source said on Sunday, adding, “The National Archives is now comparing them with the government’s list and documents of Koreans who were sent to forced labor.”

The recently discovered documents are said to contain a list of victims of forced labor and the process. The government source said, “It appears to be a copy of a document that the government sent to the Korean embassy in Japan to present it to Tokyo for the negotiation over the Korea-Japan Agreement of 1965.”

The National Archives plans to release the analysis this week. A source from the National Archives said, “It includes some new facts on the damage cause by the Japanese forced mobilization.”

Existing documents on forced mobilization include the “List of Forced Laborers” written by the Korean government, the “Yusu List” that Tokyo handed over to Seoul, a list of deceased forced laborers, and a list of navy men. The Yusu List is a document based on Japanese deputy commanders’ report on the military history of 160,148 Koreans who were forcibly mobilized by Japan’s Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry. The list of forced laborers was created to use as evidence for the damage claim against Japan in 1958 when Korea started to discuss mending the bilateral relationship with Japan. It was about Korean forced laborers who were sent to Japan between 1942 and 1945 and categorized by province. Consisting of 19 volumes, the Yusu List describes in detail on 285,183 people such as their name, age, address, and whether they are alive or dead.

A source from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said, “A large part of the list of victims seem to overlap with our existing documents, but it needs a thorough analysis as a lawsuit for the damages claim caused by forced labor is in process.”