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Youth

South Korea and Japan Agree to Create "Future Youth Fund" for Scholarships

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

South Korea and Japan have reached an agreement to create a joint fund to sponsor scholarships for students, as part of a broader deal to settle the issue of compensation for Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor. According to government sources, the Federation of Korean Industries and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) will jointly form the "future youth fund" to support students from both countries. This development is a significant step towards improving bilateral relations and building a better future for young generations in both nations.

Key Takeaways:

  • The "future youth fund" will be jointly formed by the Federation of Korean Industries and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) to sponsor scholarships for students from both countries.
  • The South Korean government is expected to announce the details of the fund and a broader agreement on compensation for Korean victims of forced labor on Monday.
  • The agreement is a significant step towards improving bilateral relations and building a better future for young generations in both nations.
  • Discussions are underway between business circles and other sectors on how they can contribute to the fund to help future generations of South Korea and Japan open a new era in bilateral relations and build potential.
  • The creation of the fund should be understood as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol making a broad-minded decision with a view to the future rather than being caught up in the frame of compensation.
  • South Korean steelmaker POSCO Holdings Inc., which received significant economic cooperation funds from Japan under a 1965 treaty, has yet to receive a formal request to donate to the foundation.
  • Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to state his government's intent to inherit a 1998 joint declaration adopted by then President Kim Dae-jung and then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Statistics:

  • 1965: The year the normalization of bilateral ties between South Korea and Japan was established under a treaty that normalized bilateral relations.
  • 1965 treaty: The treaty that normalized bilateral ties between South Korea and Japan, which included economic cooperation funds for South Korea.
  • 1998: The year a joint declaration was adopted by then President Kim Dae-jung and then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, calling for overcoming the past and building new relations.
  • 2018: The year South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japan's Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay compensation to Korean forced labor victims.
  • US$119.4 million: The economic cooperation funds offered by Japan to South Korea under the 1965 treaty, with POSCO Holdings Inc. receiving 24 percent.

Sources:

  • Yonhap News Agency (March 5, 2023)
  • Government sources cited by Yonhap News Agency (March 5, 2023)
  • National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han (March 5, 2023)
  • South Korean steelmaker POSCO Holdings Inc. (March 5, 2023)

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