‘65년 체제’의 확립과 한일 양국의 청구권협정에 대한 해석

Korea, which only gained independence on August 15, 1948, was not a party to the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty. Normalization of diplomatic relations with Japan was realized in 1965, and the ambiguous Korea-Japan Basic Relations Treaty and the Claims Settlement Agreement resolved the conflict over the past history. The two countries reconciled their differences through ‘agree to disagree’ and ‘intentional ambiguity’. Japan provided Korea with funds for economic cooperation through the Claims Settlement Agreement, and Korea gave up all claims against Japan in exchange. While the funds allowed Korea's economy to grow, relations between Korea and Japan seriously deteriorated. In particular, the conflict between the two countries over the past history, such as the issue of comfort women and forced labor, which was not addressed in the 1965 treaty regime, reached a critical state under the Moon Jae-in administration. In this context, this paper will compare and summarize the two countries' positions on the interpretation of the Claims Settlement Agreement. Specifically, it analyzes the process leading up to the conclusion of the treaty in 1965 and examines Japan's position on the Claims Settlement Agreement in comparison to that of Korea. It will also examine the international law issues with the 2012 Supreme Court ruling and why Japan has consistently insisted on ‘economic cooperation’ rather than compensation.