[Editorial] Prudent language matters for diplomacy

A battle over President Yoon Suk Yeol’s remarks in his recent interview with the Washington Post is being heated among political circles. Asked about past issues with Japan in the interview, Yoon said, “Outright attacks for what happened 100 years ago and unconditional demands for kneeling from Japan are not acceptable.” After the remarks, Democratic Party (DP) Chair Lee Jae-myung said, “That is a comment the president of a country that suffered pain from the Japanese occupation for several decades must not make.” Rep. Park Yong-jin, a DP lawmaker, joined the chorus by saying that such remarks can come from a Japanese prime minister.

But the presidential office stressed that Yoon had meant to say such blind intransigence does not help improve Korea-Japan relations. A top presidential aide went on say that Yoon tried to convey the message that he can hardly accept the argument that the two countries cannot improve their relationship unless Japan kneels first, when security cooperation between the two countries is urgently needed.

We can sympathize with Yoon’s emphasis on future-oriented relations with Japan. We can also understand his stress on the need for bilateral cooperation before embarking on a state visit to the United States to tackle many challenges such as ensuring U.S. nuclear deterrence and establishing a tripartite security information sharing system to deter North Korea’ provocations. However, his remarks can be misinterpreted as an intention to dismiss all the brutal exploitations by Japan after the forced annexation in 1910.

No matter how well-intended, a head of state must use prudent language when it comes to diplomacy. A number of Koreans still don’t accept his claim that he persuaded the public enough about the bilateral ties or that countries in Europe are closely cooperating for a better future even after going through horrible wars in the past. Many Koreans don’t agree to his naïve comparison of the European countries.

The controversy was fueled by his People Power Party (PPP). A senior lawmaker of the party attacked the DP for inciting anti-Japanese sentiment by “arbitrarily finding fault with a mistranslation by the interpreter of the interview.” The lawmaker said that Yoon had meant to say that Japan cannot accept the “kneeling,” not the President. But the interviewer confirmed that the subject of the verb “accept” is Yoon, not Japan. As Yoon will have many chances to speak about sensitive issues during his visit to the U.S, he must be careful not to repeat the slips of the tongue as during his trip to New York last year. The DP also must refrain from political offensives for its own sake.