South Korea wins first ruling to recover 2.7 billion won linked to colonial-era collaborator

South Korea’s government won a first-instance ruling on October 8 at the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Court in its case to recover land and sale proceeds worth a combined 2.7 billion won from descendants of Shin Woo-sun, a colonial-era official. The decision, reported on October 12, addresses whether the state can pursue proceeds from property sold before its 2005 law on assets linked to collaboration with Japan.

The claim comprises 2.43 billion won in proceeds from land sales and one remaining parcel valued at about 270 million won under the official assessed land price, according to Yonhap News Agency and SBS News. Yonhap put the combined amount at about US$2 million. The reported judgment is a win for the government at this stage, but the reports do not establish that the land or money has been recovered.

What the Shin Woo-sun property ruling covers

SBS reported that the Ministry of Justice traced 14 parcels in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, that Shin acquired in 1913 and 1917. Thirteen were sold between 1993 and 2005. Those sales put most of the government’s claim on proceeds rather than on land still held by the descendants: the reported value of the proceeds is nine times the assessed value of the remaining parcel.

According to both reports, the court held that the government could seek the return of proceeds even when the underlying property had been transferred to third parties before the 2005 law was enacted. That distinction matters in this case because the 13 reported sales occurred before or during 2005, while the government is seeking payment from Shin’s descendants as well as transfer of the parcel still at issue.

Why the government sought Shin’s assets

Yonhap described Shin as a vice councilor in an advisory body of Japan’s colonial government and reported that he received honorary medals from Japan. SBS identified him as Shin Woo-sun, who lived from 1873 to 1943, and named the Annexation of Korea Commemorative Medal and the Taisho Emperor Enthronement Commemorative Medal. Those reported roles and honours form the historical context for the government’s claim; the present dispute concerns the property and its proceeds.

South Korea enacted its Special Act on Asset Confiscation for Pro-Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators to the State on December 29, 2005. The law provides for qualifying property to devolve to the state. It describes covered property as including property acquired in return for collaboration during the period from the start of the Russo-Japanese War to August 15, 1945, along with certain inherited or bestowed property whose nature was known to the recipient.

The statute also protects rights acquired by third parties in good faith or for payment. In 2011, Yonhap reported that South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the law while ruling that the state could not confiscate property already sold to a third party who bought it unknowingly, even if that purchase took place after the law came into force. The current case’s reported focus on sale proceeds is therefore distinct from taking land from such a buyer.

What happens after the first-instance decision

SBS quoted acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-su as saying the ruling would be an important milestone for a second Pro-Japanese Property Investigation Committee expected to launch on December 3. He said the ministry would prepare for its launch. That statement describes the ministry’s plans; it does not mean this judgment has already resulted in collection or determine how the future committee will handle other property.

The special act provides for a commission to investigate and determine which property falls within its scope. It also allows an aggrieved person to seek an administrative appeal or bring litigation against a commission decision. Those procedures are part of the wider legal framework, while the October 8 decision reported by SBS is a first-instance district court judgment in this particular recovery case.

Neither current report establishes whether Shin’s descendants will appeal, when the government could collect any payment or land, or what amount it will ultimately recover. The immediate change is the district court’s ruling in the government’s favour on the stated 2.7 billion won claim, including the reported claim to proceeds from property sold before the law was enacted.