Justice Ministry Wins First Pro-Japan Assets Recovery Suit, Court Rejects Statute of Limitations Claim

South Korea’s Justice Ministry has won a lawsuit seeking to recover assets linked to a descendant of a pro-Japanese collaborator, in what it called the first such victory since a Supreme Court ruling that treated heirs’ statute-of-limitations defenses as an abuse of rights.

The ministry said Thursday it won in full in a suit filed against the descendants of Lim Seon-jun, seeking the return of about 53 million won in unjust enrichment tied to proceeds from land sales.

The Seoul Western District Court accepted all of the state’s claims, the ministry said, calling the ruling an important precedent for future recovery efforts.

Lim was a figure who cooperated in the forced abdication of King Gojong and the signing of the Japan-Korea Agreement, and received a noble title from Japan. He was designated a pro-Japanese collaborator by the Presidential Committee for the Inspection of Collaborations for Japanese Imperialism.

The ministry said it confirmed that Lim’s descendants sold eight inherited parcels of land in Yeoju, Gyeonggi province, between 1993 and 2000, and filed the lawsuit in January.

The ministry said it will continue pursuing other pending cases to secure state victories in efforts to recover such assets.

Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho said, “Through thorough litigation, we will recover even a single won of pro-Japan assets to the very end. For a complete reckoning, we will also do our utmost to support legislation so the bill to re-enact the pro-Japan assets vesting law, now pending in the National Assembly, can pass swiftly.”



* This article has been translated by AI.

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