Lawmakers push to speed up recovery of 1942 coal mine victims' remains

Korean and Japanese lawmakers are pressing both governments to accelerate the recovery and repatriation of remains from a 1942 coal mine flooding in Japan that killed 136 Korean laborers and 47 Japanese workers, according to The Korea Times.

The push comes 84 years after company officials sealed the mine entrance and trapped the workers inside. The discovery of two skulls beginning in 2025 has renewed international pressure on Seoul and Tokyo to identify and return the remains to bereaved families who have waited decades for closure.

Rep. Kim Jun-hyeok of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party of Korea has proposed special legislation to provide dedicated government funding and inter-agency cooperation for the recovery project; the bill was referred to committee on March 11, according to The Korea Times. Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the opposition People Power Party has engaged on the issue as well, reflecting cross-party support.

The Chosei Coal Mine in Ube City, Japan, flooded Feb. 3, 1942, after workers were directed to dig in an area engineers had flagged as vulnerable to cave-ins. Company officials then sealed the mine entrance to prevent seawater from surging further inland, leaving 183 workers with no escape route. Between 1939 and 1941, some 1,258 Koreans — the highest mobilization figure at any Ube coalfield mine — had been sent to work there, according to The Korea Times.

The Association to Engrave the Josei Coal Mine Accident in History, established in 1991, organized crowdfunding campaigns to locate and open the submerged mine, remove debris and equip volunteer divers to navigate its partially collapsed passages. A first skull was found in August 2025; a second, with teeth still attached, was brought to the surface Feb. 6, 2026.

The following day, Wei Hsu, a 57-year-old Taiwanese rebreather trainer and volunteer diver, died of oxygen toxicity during a dive on Feb. 7. His death illustrated the hazardous conditions facing those working to recover remains from the flooded mine.

The discoveries spurred diplomatic movement. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed at a summit in Nara on Jan. 13 to cooperate on DNA testing and identification of recovered remains. Officials from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare conducted their first on-site inspection on Jan. 30 — a step civil society had long demanded.

Among those awaiting answers is Choe Geum-seok, whose father, Choe Tae-yong, was killed in the flooding. The Korean victims came from five localities in North and South Gyeongsang provinces — Gunwi, Yeongcheon, Yeongil, Sacheon and Goseong — according to The Korea Times.

Yoko Inoue, representative director of the Association, has indicated the organization intends to continue recovery operations. If Rep. Kim's proposed legislation passes, it would mark the first dedicated state-level financial support from Seoul for the project.