S. Korean prime minister addresses Japan’s attitude on forced labor ruling

Posted on : 2018-11-08 17:21 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Lee Nak-yeon expresses “deep regret,” calling Japan’s criticism “neither appropriate nor wise”
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon
South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon

On Nov. 7, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon expressed his “deep regret” for Japanese leaders’ criticism of the South Korean Supreme Court’s recent ruling about compensation for forced laborers, calling this criticism “neither appropriate nor wise.”

For the first time since the forced labor ruling was made, South Korea’s prime minister, the Blue House and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have all openly expressed regrets about the Japanese government. These remarks are taken to express the government’s resolution to not sit by idly while Japanese government officials make aggressive comments, exemplified by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s slamming the ruling as an “act of violence” and “defiance of the international order.”

“I express my deep regret that leaders in the Japanese government continue to make extreme remarks about the South Korean Supreme Court’s ruling about the Koreans conscripted for labor during Japan’s colonial occupation. The remarks by Japanese government leaders are neither appropriate nor wise,” Lee said in a statement issued on Wednesday called, “In Regard to the Japanese Government’s Attitude about the South Korean Judiciary’s Forced Labor Decision.”

“Japanese government leaders have the right to express their dissatisfaction with the South Korean judiciary’s ruling. But since they are attempting to turn this into a diplomatic dispute, it is regrettable that I, too, have no choice but to express my opinion on this matter,” Lee said in the statement.

“That the government may not interfere in the decisions of the judiciary is a foundational principle of democracy. The Supreme Court’s ruling does not deny the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, but rather recognizes that treaty and decides how far the scope of that treaty’s application extends,” Lee said.

“We will do our best to heal the wounds of the victims of forced labor,” Lee said, noting that related government ministries and civilian experts are grappling with how to respond to the ruling. He added that “the South Korean government reiterates that it hopes for South Korea-Japan relations to develop in a future-oriented manner.”

In a meeting with reporters on Wednesday, a senior official at the Blue House said, “For the Japanese government to overstep the bounds in its public criticism of the South Korean government does not help us resolve this situation.”

No summit with Abe during forecoming ASEAN and APEC summits

In light of the recent mood between South Korea and Japan, the Blue House said that South Korean President Moon Jae-in is unlikely to have a separate summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when the two visit Singapore and Papua New Guinea from Nov. 13 to 18 to attend a summit with the leaders of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry released a statement of its own on the evening of Nov. 6. “The South Korean government is very concerned that responsible leaders in the Japanese government have continued to make remarks recently about the Supreme Court’s ruling that provoke public sentiment while ignoring the root of the problem,” the statement said.

By Noh Ji-won and Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporters

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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