Korea holds separate memorial to honor Sado mine victims after boycotting Japan-hosted event

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Korea holds separate memorial to honor Sado mine victims after boycotting Japan-hosted event

Published: 25 Nov. 2024, 10:25 Updated: 25 Nov. 2024, 12:21

Family members of Korean labor victims and South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee gather at a former dormitory for Korean forced laborers near the Sado mines to pay tribute to the laborers with eulogies, a moment of silence and floral offerings. [YONHAP]

The Korean government held its own ceremony on Monday to honor Korean wartime forced laborers at their former lodgings near Japan’s Sado mines, following Seoul’s decision to boycott a Japan-hosted memorial held on Sunday.

Foreign Ministry officials from Seoul and nine family members of the victims gathered at a former dormitory for Korean forced laborers near the Sado gold mines to pay tribute to the laborers with eulogies, a moment of silence and floral offerings.

Korea's Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee also attended the event.

Korea’s decision to organize its own ceremony came after boycotting a memorial on Sunday organized by the Japanese government to honor Korean wartime forced laborers at the Sado mines. Japan agreed to hold a ceremony for the laborers when the site gained Unesco World Heritage registration in July.

The boycott from Korea stemmed from Japan’s controversial choice to send Akiko Ikuina, parliamentary vice minister of Japan's Foreign Ministry who had previously visited the Yasukuni Shrine honoring the war criminals from World War II, as its government representative.

Akiko Ikuina, parliamentary vice minister from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivers remarks during the Sado Mines Memorial Ceremony at the Aikawa Development Center in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. Seats reserved for South Korean officials and bereaved families remain empty Ikuina's highly criticized visit to the Yasukuni Shrine prompted Korea to withdraw from the ceremony. [NEWS1]

Approximately 60 people attended Sunday’s ceremony, but around 40 seats remained unoccupied.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]