List of Japan collaborators draws backlash

A group of historians on Sunday published a biographical dictionary bearing the names of 4,389 people who they say collaborated with colonial Japan, drawing fierce backlash from the relatives of those listed.

It took eight years for the Institute for Research in Collaborationist Activities to release the three-volume dictionary amid much controversy over the purge of history.

Names on the list include former President Park Chung-hee, former Vice President Kim Sung-soo, former Prime Minister Chang Myun and even figures known for their anti-Japan resistance, such as journalist Jang Ji-yeon.

Families of Park Chung-hee, Jang Ji-yeon, pro-Japan artist Chang Woo-sung and prosecutor Um Sang-seop had filed for an injunction to prohibit the publication, which was turned down by the court earlier this month.



They are now considering suing the research institute for libel.

"We have appealed to higher court and will decide whether to sue the institute for libel after further review," said a member of a group dedicated to commemoration of Jang.

A court official said, however, on condition of anonymity that the relatives are unlikely to win if they take legal action.

"It hardly falls under libel because the publication was mostly written based on facts," he said.

According to the dictionary, Jang wrote hundreds of commentaries and poems for a newspaper published by the Japanese colonial government in Korea between 1914 and 1918.

The late President Park was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Japanese army in 1944 after he transferred from a military institute in Manchuria to the Japanese military academy two years earlier.

The dictionary said, citing a 1939 newspaper article, that Park applied to become an army officer of Manchukuo, then a puppet state under Japanese influence, by submitting a pledge of loyalty written in his own blood.

Park Ji-man, the only son of the late president and brother of former chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party, Park Geun-hye, requested last month that the court suspend publication of the books, denying that his father served in the Japanese army.

"He worked for the Manchurian military, not in the Japanese army, and did not participate in eliminating Korean independence fighters," the son said in a statement submitted to the court.

"The inclusion of his name in the list defames my father, in disregard of his contributions to the country."

Former Prime Minister Chang Myun was listed in the dictionary for serving as a director of a Catholic group that paid regular visits to Japanese shrines, an act regarded as highly pro-Japanese in Korea.

Ironically, the new publication also includes the names of 20 meritorious persons previously accredited for their contribution towards Korea`s independence.

The Ministry of Patriots & Veterans Affairs is to decide whether to cancel their recognition as men of merit after reviewing related historical materials.

A pro-Japan collaborator is defined as anyone who cooperated when Japan annexed Korea, aided colonial rule, fought in imperial wars or cracked down on the independence movement.

(sophie@heraldm.com)







By Kim So-hyun