Foreign minister expresses regret over Sado mines memorial fallout

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Foreign minister expresses regret over Sado mines memorial fallout

Published: 28 Nov. 2024, 18:32 Updated: 28 Nov. 2024, 18:35

SEO JI-EUN
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Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul responds to lawmakers' questions about the controversy surrounding Japan's recent Sado Mines memorial intended to honor Korean wartime forced labor victims during a plenary session of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed regret Thursday over the government’s last-minute decision to boycott Japan’s Sado mines memorial service, stating that the administration “feels a deep sense of responsibility” for the fallout.

“I feel a deep sense of responsibility for being unable to achieve our objectives and for having to decide on non-participation at the last minute,” Cho told lawmakers during a plenary session of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly in western Seoul.

The minister also, however, warned Japan of potential consequences if it continues to neglect its commitments.

“If Japan does not faithfully fulfill its promises, it will have to bear the burden of its damaged reputation in the international community,” he said.

Cho's remarks come after his first acknowledgment of responsibility over the failed negotiations, criticized as a diplomatic failure, and subsequent fallout while speaking to reporters upon returning to Incheon International Airport from the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Italy the previous day.

He said that Korea, as a Unesco World Heritage Committee member, would continue to monitor Japan's compliance with its obligations under the Unesco framework.

"The government will continue to urge Japan to sincerely comply,” he said, adding that a senior official from the Foreign Ministry had met with Unesco representatives to convey Korea's concerns and express regret over the unresolved issues.

Of the approximately 100 planned attendees of a memorial ceremony honoring forced labor victims, including Koreans, around 30 seats are left empty due to the boycott of the Korean delegation, on Japan's Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, on Sunday. Criticism emerged after Japan failed to properly acknowledge the victims or the site's full history of forced mobilization of labor during World War II, when Korea was under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.[NEWS1]

Cho addressed the controversy surrounding the presence of Akiko Ikuina, a parliamentary vice minister of Tokyo's Foreign Ministry and Japan’s representative at the memorial service held Sunday, who was reported to have visited the Yasukuni Shrine in the past. The shrine has drawn criticism for honoring Class-A World War II war criminals.

While the report on Ikuina's past visit was a factor in the decision to boycott, Cho clarified that it was not the decisive one.

“Even if the report did not exist, we would still have decided not to attend the memorial,” he explained.

The minister revealed that intense negotiations continued until the day before the memorial service, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Seoul ultimately decided to withdraw, citing Tokyo's failure to honor past agreements, including the omission of references to the forced labor of Korean workers in Japan’s memorial address.

In response to the boycott, Korea organized its own memorial service Monday at a former dormitory for the forced laborers on Sado Island on Monday.

Lawmakers from the rival parties criticized the government’s handling of the situation and its broader approach to Japan in rare show of concurrence.

Liberal Democratic Party (DP) Rep. Wi Sung-lac blamed the fallout on flawed policy, saying, “This is not just an issue of the Foreign Ministry or the minister. It reflects problems with the government’s entire Japan policy.” He accused the administration of downplaying Tokyo's inadequate responses to historical issues, stating, “What we see now is the natural outcome of that approach.”

Fellow DP Rep. Kwon Chil-seung questioned whether Korea was giving more in the relationship than it received. “Do you agree with the perception that Korea has filled half the glass in Korea-Japan relations, only for Japan to drink it all?” Kwon said. Minister Cho responded, “I agree that this perception may have been reinforced by the outcome [of this incident].”

Criticism also came from the president's own conservative People Power Party (PPP).

PPP Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun criticized Japan for failing to honor its 2015 promises regarding the Unesco registration of Hashima Island, nicknamed Battleship Island.

“We’ve been let down twice because we relied too much on Japan’s goodwill and rushed to conclude negotiations,” Yoon said.

Kim Ki-woong, another PPP lawmaker, likened the situation to dealing with North Korea, saying, “Rather than focusing on condemning Japan for its lack of sincerity, the narrative seems to center on whether we didn't expect this from Japan in the first place.”

He urged the government to increase international pressure on Tokyo, saying, “The best approach is to actively expose Japan’s wrongful actions to the international community and create significant global pressure.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]