[Edaily Reporter LEE MINHA ] Assets recovered from pro-Japanese anti-nationalists are not being properly channeled to support independence activists. This is because a significant portion of the recovered real estate has not been sold. Of all the recovered real estate, only 27% (by area) has been sold. In terms of value, this amounts to about half.

This year, only three parcels of land (worth 100 million won) were sold. Although President Lee Jae-myung announced at the Liberation Day celebration that he would use pro-Japanese assets to assist independence activists and their bereaved families, the reality is that securing funds for their support remains a distant prospect.

Sale Proceeds Cut to One-Eighth… Virtually No Funds Recovered

According to data from the Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs obtained by Edaily on the 25th through the office of People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook, since the enactment of the Special Act on the Reversion of Property of Pro-Japanese Anti-National Actors to the State in 2005, 1,600 parcels of pro-Japanese property—covering a total area of 8,745,026 square meters (2,645,370 pyeong)—have been reverted to the state. This is enough land to accommodate 1,200 soccer fields. Of this total, 781 parcels have been sold. While 48.8% of the parcels have been disposed of, the total area sold amounts to 2,397,717 square meters (725,309 pyeong), representing only 27.4% of the total.

The problem is that the pace of sales is rapidly slowing down. From 2016 through June of this year, proceeds from the sale of pro-Japanese confiscated property contributed to the Fund for National Martyrs and Patriotic Figures totaled 236 parcels, amounting to 48.5 billion won. On an annual basis, the amount dropped from 9.1 billion won in 2016 to 1.2 billion won last year—a decline to one-eighth of the original level. In the first half of this year, the figure amounted to only 100 million won. The proportion of these proceeds within the fund’s total revenue has also shrunk from 81% in 2016 to 11% last year—a decline to roughly one-seventh of the original level.

Looking at the breakdown of the fund’s revenue last year (11.207 billion won), proceeds from the sale of pro-Japanese assets amounted to only 1.236 billion won. This is less than one-third of the rental income from the Liberation Hall (4.068 billion won). In terms of the fund’s revenue composition, rental income from the building outweighs the proceeds from the sale of pro-Japanese assets.

This phenomenon occurs because most of the real estate that has not yet been sold consists of white elephants with low liquidity. An analysis by Edaily of pro-Japanese assets listed for sale by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on KAMCO’s public auction platform, Onbid, revealed that a significant number of properties had failed to sell 7 to 8 times. This indicates that their value as investment properties has declined, causing them to be shunned by the market.

The properties that failed to sell the most were two lots, each having failed to sell 11 times. They are a 132-square-meter plot in Jeoknuri, Cheongyang-eup, Cheongyang County, South Chungcheong Province, and a 60-square-meter forested lot in Bamun-ri, Useong-myeon, Gongju City. Although the asking price for the Jeoknuri plot was reduced from an appraised value of 5,676,000 won to 4,541,000 won, and the price for the Bamun-ri forested lot was lowered from 1,680,000 won to 1,344,000 won, no buyers came forward.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, which is overseeing the sales, also acknowledged the limitations of their marketability. An official from the ministry stated, “Although we are conducting auctions, the repeated failures to sell are due to the low appeal of these properties,” adding, “Our position is that most of the properties likely to attract interest have already been sold.”

The nature of the remaining land was also cited as an obstacle. The official explained, “A significant portion of the unsold land consists of mountainous areas far from the Seoul metropolitan area,” adding, “It is too large for individuals to purchase, and accessibility is poor.”

Half of the Land Is Unsellable… Difficult to Sell Even With Official Requests to “Please Buy”

An even greater obstacle is that more than half of the unsold reclaimed property cannot be sold at all. According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, 448 of the remaining 819 parcels are already in use as rivers, roads, national forests, or parks, and therefore cannot be sold to individuals under the law. Such land can only be liquidated if purchased by the agencies that actually manage it, such as local governments or the Korea Forest Service. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs explained that while it has sent official letters requesting cooperation from these agencies, it has no means to compel them to purchase the land.

An official from the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs stated, “Even if local governments want to buy the land, they face limitations due to insufficient budgets,” adding, “Since there is no legal basis, compulsory purchase is also impossible.” Currently, the Ministry has not even begun revising the relevant laws and regulations to address these issues. The official explained, “To draft legislation, we must hear opinions not only from central government agencies but also from local governments; however, since this is an issue directly tied to the budget, it is not easy to gather consensus.”

Dangsan Park in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province—which was recovered by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs as pro-Japanese property—is a prime example. The Ministry requested that Cheongju City purchase the land twice, in late April and early August of this year, but the city maintains that acquiring other privately owned parks takes priority. An official from Cheongju City explained, “Unlike privately owned parks where owners complain of property rights violations, no citizens protest when state-owned land is used as a hiking trail, so it naturally falls lower on the acquisition priority list,” adding, “Given the limited financial resources of local governments, it is difficult to prioritize the purchase of state-owned land.”

Even if the Committee for the Investigation of Pro-Japanese Property is relaunched on December 3, the same pattern is bound to repeat itself. The Ministry of Justice has announced its plan to recover at least 32.5 billion won through this second-term committee and allocate the funds primarily to the Fund for Martyrs and Patriotic Figures (Sun-Ae Fund). However, a recovery decision alone merely increases the amount recorded on the books; it does not actually expand the fund’s size.

Consequently, some have suggested that if selling the properties proves difficult, the government should at least collect land rental fees. This would involve charging rental fees for land currently used by local governments or public institutions for parks, roads, and other purposes. Representative Shin emphasized, “The government should not just chant the slogan of ‘reclaiming pro-Japanese assets’; it must actively sell the reclaimed properties and devise utilization plans, such as leasing land that has failed to sell at auction.”

Experts also point out that “asset recovery” alone is meaningless. Bang Hak-jin, Secretary-General of the Institute for Research on National Issues, stated, “Ultimately, what matters is increasing the amount of usable assets available to independence activists; it doesn’t matter how much property has been recovered,” adding, “If we focus solely on the amount recovered, we’re putting the cart before the horse.”