Did the former forced laborer who passed away in January at age 101 not accept the solution?

On the 30th of last month, the Korean police arrested a man on suspicion of forgery of a private document, etc., for receiving settlement money without the consent of the father of a former forced laborer in a lawsuit in which a Japanese company lost at the Korean Supreme Court.
The two children were referred to prosecutors. The former forced laborer was Lee Chun-sik, who passed away at the age of 101 in January of this year. Regarding the issue of former forced laborers, which has been a concern between Japan and South Korea, the South Korean government has announced that in March 2023,
The government announced a third-party settlement to the plaintiffs who had won the former forced labor lawsuit, under which a foundation under the government would pay the equivalent of compensation.
However, in October last year, a source close to the foundation revealed that Ms. Lee's family had completed the procedures to receive the settlement money. However, Ms. Lee's two children "have been diagnosed with a disease" and "have been forced to live with their parents for a long time."
It is suspected that the two men had Lee sign documents to accept the settlement, falsely claiming they were documents related to the hospital.
"It was revealed that Lee's children had falsified private documents," the report said.
The court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (formerly Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal) to pay compensation, but Japan maintains that the issue of wartime reparations was settled by the 1965 Japan-Korea Claims Agreement, and the two defendants refused to comply.
As a result, the plaintiffs have begun the process of selling assets owned by Japanese companies in South Korea to use the proceeds to pay compensation.
However, the situation changed in May 2022 when the Yun Seok-yeol administration was launched in South Korea.
He showed a strong desire to make improvements, and in regards to the issue of former forced labor lawsuits, he actively stepped up efforts toward a resolution, such as setting up a joint public-private council to seek a solution shortly after taking office.
Then, in March 2023, the South Korean government announced a "solution" to this problem. The solution was that the "Foundation for Victims of Japanese Forced Mobilization" under the South Korean government, which supports former forced laborers, would
The company will pay the plaintiffs an amount equivalent to the damages, including interest on delayed payments, on behalf of the defendants Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, who were ordered to pay damages to the plaintiffs. In addition, the company has also announced that it will pay the plaintiffs a victory in a similar lawsuit currently underway.
When the South Korean government announced the settlement, Yoon said, "Up until now, the government has respected the position of the victims and has sought to find a settlement that is in line with the common interests and future development of both Korea and Japan."
Of the 15 people who won the lawsuit, 11 of them, either bereaved or still alive, expressed their intention to accept the settlement shortly after it was presented, and each person received 200 to 300 million won (approximately 220
The court awarded Lee Chun-sik and several others a judgment of between 0 and 32 million yen, plus interest on late payments. However, it was reported that Lee Chun-sik and several others refused to accept the money. However, the foundation announced in October last year that Lee's side had decided to accept the money.
As a result, all of the 15 plaintiffs whose cases were decided in 2018 and who were still alive at the time received settlement money.
It was reported that Lee was suffering from dementia at the time, and his eldest son held a press conference at the time and said that he was unaware that his father had accepted the government's solution, and that his father was acting with normal will.
The eldest son reported the two siblings who had applied to receive the settlement money to the police.
On the 30th of last month, the Korean police indicted the two on charges of forgery of private documents. The police say that the two men had given Lee a pen in order to receive the settlement money, and had then stolen his hand.
According to a police source quoted by the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, one of the suspects has admitted to the charges, while the other has denied them.
Lee passed away in January this year at the age of 101 due to old age. The foundation has been paying out compensation to the plaintiffs who have won the former forced labor lawsuits, and has paid out compensation to 26 of the 67 plaintiffs so far.
People have agreed to the settlement put together by the South Korean government and received the equivalent amount of compensation. It is out of the question for a third party to forge documents against the will of the people involved and proceed with the receipt of the compensation, but
As the plaintiffs in these lawsuits grow older, it is becoming more difficult for their families to ascertain their wishes.