Whistleblowers who report pro-Japanese assets will be eligible for rewards of up to 50 million won. The Ministry of Justice announced this on October 14 while previewing the enforcement decree of the "Special Act on the Nationalization of Assets of Pro-Japanese Collaborators" (Pro-Japanese Asset Nationalization Act). The amount of the reward will be determined based on the whistleblower's contribution in providing information and the scale of the pro-Japanese assets, with a maximum limit of 50 million won.
The enforcement decree also outlines the specific procedures for the recovery of pro-Japanese assets.
The Pro-Japanese Asset Investigation Committee must notify the head of the Public Procurement Service when making decisions regarding the nationalization of pro-Japanese assets. Following this, the head of the Public Procurement Service will take measures to protect rights with relevant central authorities. Individuals under investigation will be given at least 30 days to submit their opinions before a nationalization decision is made.
If pro-Japanese assets have already been sold and cannot be nationalized, a confirmation decision on the pro-Japanese assets will be required before recovering the proceeds from the sale. Prior to this confirmation decision, individuals under investigation and interested parties will also be granted at least 30 days to submit their opinions, ensuring procedural rights are protected.
Fines will be imposed for violations of data submission or attendance requirements, and higher penalties are expected for submitting false information compared to failing to submit.
The Pro-Japanese Asset Nationalization Act is set to take effect on December 3. Under this law, the Pro-Japanese Asset Investigation Committee, which was disbanded in 2010, will be reconstituted and will operate for up to five years.
The government has repeatedly expressed its commitment to thoroughly recover pro-Japanese assets. Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung shared a media report on October 5 regarding the government's recovery of land owned by pro-Japanese collaborator Kim Han-kyu, stating, "We will thoroughly recover pro-Japanese assets by increasing manpower, budget, and organization."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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