A rally denouncing the government's forced labor compensation plan was held in the heart of Seoul over the weekend.

Civic groups staged the rally at Seoul Plaza Saturday afternoon urging the Yoon Suk Yeol administration to immediately withdraw the plan that the groups said absolves Japan and the liable Japanese firms of responsibility.

A police-estimated five-thousand participants also called on Japan to apologize for its colonial-era atrocities and compensate the victims directly.

Main opposition Democratic Party(DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, who joined the rally, said the government's plan lacks both compensation and an apology, while only exonerating those that committed war crimes.

Organizers said they plan to stage the rally every Saturday to protest the plan to offer compensation through a fund created with local corporate donations while not demanding any involvement from the two Japanese companies found liable in a 2018 Supreme Court ruling.