[Column] Make Sector 7 part of deal

Kim Hyun-ki

The author is the Tokyo bureau chief and rotating correspondent of the JoongAng Ilbo.

“My dreams in the deep sea / where black pearls and their brilliance lie hidden / I’ll lift my hands high in the sky when you show yourself / The sector 7, sector 7 sector 7!” The lyrics come from a popular song in 1978, titled “The Sector 7, Black Pearl,” by Jung Nan-yi. Black pearl here refers to oil. In his New Year’s address in 1976, President Park Chung Hee announced that the country had discovered oil underneath the Gulf of Yeongil on the southeastern part of the country. The country went exuberant about becoming an oil producer.

The dream was fed by the Sector 7, which extends south across the continental shelf from south of Jeju Island to west of Kyushu Island, Japan. It is 124 times larger than Seoul. The U.S. Navy Maritime Institute and United Nations estimated 7.2 billion tons of oil and gas reserves underneath, roughly equal to the riches below the Black Sea.

President Park waged a war of nerves with Japan since the section was closer to Japan in proximity. The two countries ended up agreeing on 50:50 joint-venture exploration in 1978. Seoul was proud to make a deal with Tokyo. South Korea at the time did not have the technology or money to explore and mine gas undersea. But the dream drifted away. Japan decided not to comply with the joint development upon judging low economic value. What really led Japan to reach the decision?

The topic has been raised because the expiry of the joint project is nearing. The agreement is to terminate on June 22, 2028 (Either side can terminate the agreement after June 2025). But the problem is that a revision of the 1994 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea makes approximately 90 percent of the joint development zone fall under the Japanese jurisdiction. Just in two years, the potential ocean riches of black pearl could become Japan’s.

It may help explain why Japan backed out citing a lack of economic value from Sector 7. We cannot know how much oil and gas are under the surface. There may not be any. But we cannot sit on our hands even without trying a drill just because Japan says so. But we hear no complaints from the government or politicians.

A movie poster for “Sector 7,” a 2011 science fiction film about drilling offshore for oil south of Jeju Island. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Seoul and Tokyo are in the final stage of devising a deal over compensating for wartime forced labor. The two sides will soon agree on creating a “third-party” fund to pay the aged victims and hold a summit meeting in March or April, instead of early February as hoped by Seoul. Apart from the director-general-level talks, higher-level discussions could be on the way.

What must be done must be done through diplomacy. As underscored by the wartime labor issue, negotiating power is the key to diplomacy. Without it, a nation has no chance to stand up for itself. What defines negotiating power is a meticulous planning and smart play with various diplomatic cards. If the forced labor issue had been bargained for the revival of the inter-government deal on compensation for wartime sexual slavery, which was chucked away by Seoul, Korea could have gotten a better hand.

The Korea National Diplomatic Academy, which should have acted as the brains behind strategy-making, played no role. There are 70 diplomats in the Foreign Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan devoted to devising strategies. Seoul is no match. It must reinforce, and if necessary, make fixes.

Looking forward to long-term relationship, Seoul should negotiate future gains from past issues. Sector 7 could be one. Past issues must lead up to future opportunities. That can be more practical and urgent. Whether it be an extension of the agreement or an expedition, Seoul must do something.

The topic should come up in summit talks. If necessary, Seoul can sting where Tokyo hurts by raising the issue over the release of contaminated wastewater into the ocean from the Fukushima nuclear plant. It is not the time for being laidback. The government should offer some comfort to the people of the world’s fifth largest gas importer so distressed by the spikes in gas bills by offering some hope for Sector 7.