Rival parties clash over conflicting reports on Yoon's Japan visit

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, hold bilateral talks at the prime minister's residence in Tokyo Thursday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Rival parties are deeply divided over the outcome of President Yoon Suk Yeol's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last week, especially amid contradictory reports on what was discussed during the bilateral talks.

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) stressed that Yoon's trip to Japan over Thursday and Friday, the first bilateral visit by a Korean president in 12 years, was a necessary step toward prioritizing the national interests of both countries both in terms of security and economy.

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) in turn demanded a clarification on a string of reports coming from Japanese media on what was discussed during the summit, some which differed from what the Korean government had announced, and questioned whether Yoon had made any unknown concessions to Tokyo.

Yoon's trip came after Seoul announced earlier this month that a Korea-backed public foundation will compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule, without set contributions from the Japanese companies found liable in Korea's Supreme Court rulings in 2018.

The summit was welcomed by both governments as an opportunity to set back on track diplomatic relations frayed in recent years by historical disputes and a trade spat, though observers in Korea said that Japan could have also shown more sincere corresponding measures to Seoul's gestures in the summit, such an explicit apology from Kishida or more specific actions to be taken by Japan regarding the forced labor victims.

On Monday, the DP protested what it called "humiliating diplomacy" with Japan and called on Yoon's foreign affairs and security line to step down to take responsibility.

DP lawmakers demanded the government clarify Japanese media reports on whether there had been discussions on the so-called comfort women agreement of 2015, the Dokdo dispute or the lifting of an import ban on Japanese seafood during the summit.

DP chief Lee Jae-myung in a party meeting Monday said that if Japanese reports are true and Yoon made any concessions during the summit, it would be "shocking" and damaging to national pride and the sovereignty of Korea.

He pledged to "mobilize all possible means" to get to the truth.

The presidential office said in a statement Friday that "neither the comfort women issue nor the Dokdo issue were discussed at the Korea-Japan summit."

A presidential official repeated this stance and told reporters Monday that after the summit, Seoul's "diplomatic authorities relayed our regret and asked to prevent a recurrence after expressing concerns about the Japanese side's completely unfounded or distorted reports."

Japan's Kyodo News reported last week that during the summit, Kishida requested Korea's faithful implementation of the bilateral agreement attempting to resolve the issue of the Japanese military's sexual slavery during World War II, euphemistically referred to as comfort women, another sticky issue between the two countries.

Japanese media outlets also reported that the Dokdo issue was discussed during the summit and that Japan had requested Korea abolish restrictions on imports of fishery products from Fukushima.

Korea and Japan struck a deal attempting to resolve the comfort women issue in December 2015 "finally and irreversibly," and included an apology by the Japanese government and a 1-billion-yen ($7.5 million) fund for the victims. In 2019, the Moon Jae-in administration dissolved the Tokyo-funded foundation but stopped short of scrapping the 2015 bilateral deal despite it being "flawed."

Seoul maintains that there is no territorial dispute over the Dokdo islets in the East Sea, also claimed by Tokyo, as they are historically, geographically and under international law an integral part of Korean territory.

A massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, destroying the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and Korea has maintained a ban on imports on Japanese seafood from affected areas since.

Japan announced in 2021 a controversial decision to gradually release radioactive water stored in tanks at the plant into the Pacific Ocean, another source of concern for Korean people.

A presidential official said Monday that he couldn't confirm the details of what was said during Yoon and Kishida's summit as they are confidential when asked about the seafood import ban.

He noted that "some Japanese politicians are said to have mentioned this issue" when meeting with Yoon during the Tokyo trip.

However, the official stressed that the Korean government maintains its stance that the ban on Japanese seafood imports can only be lifted when there is enough scientific evidence and public sentiment to back the measure, noting, "Even if there is scientific evidence, such measures can only be implemented when the public feels safe."

In a party meeting Monday, PPP Chairman Kim Gi-hyeon accused the DP, which holds a parliamentary majority, of trying to fuel domestic political polarization through "kindling anti-Japanese sentiments."

Kim accused the DP of using "national interest and security" issues as a means of "bulletproofing" its leader Lee Jae-myung who is embroiled in several corruption scandals from his time as Seongnam mayor.

In his first meeting with aides Monday after the summit, President Yoon "urged all ministries to fully prepare for follow-up measures so that the public can feel improvements in Korea-Japan relations and cooperation," said presidential spokesman Kim Do-woon in a briefing later that day.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]