A Reconsideration of the Ch’inilp’a (Pro-Japanese Collaborators) Criteria: Discussions Surrounding the 1947 and the 1948 Legislations

Abstract

In postwar southern Korea from 1945, the term ch’inilp’a is loosely used to describe a wide range of collaboration during the Japanese-administered colonial period. Although the term has been used to include questionable acts, many ambiguities among the criteria of ch’inilp’a are often overlooked or ignored. Tracing the origin of the criteria, this article considers how the term ch’inilp’a was defined, specifically within the Puil hyŏmnyŏkcha, minjok panyŏkcha, chŏnpŏm, kansangbae e taehan t’ŭkpyŏl pŏmnyul chorye (附日協力者・民族反逆者・戦犯・奸商. 輩에 대한特別法律条例 Special Law on Pro-Japanese, National Traitors, Warmongers, and Profiteers) of 1947 and the Panminjok haengwi ch’ŏbŏlbŏp (反民族行為処罰法 National Traitor Law) of 1948.