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President Moon Jae-in speaks at an Aug. 29 Cabinet meeting at the Blue House. (Blue House photo pool)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in directed strong criticisms toward the Japanese government for its export control measures on Aug. 29.

“No matter what excuse it invokes as justification, it is clear that the Japanese Government has linked historical issues to economic matters,” he said, adding that Tokyo’s denial of this “is very disingenuous.”

Moon’s remarks frankly voiced his disappointment with Tokyo’s consistent approach of disregard and retaliation despite Seoul’s various attempts to resolve the situation diplomatically. His resolute stance appears to have been sparked by remarks made at a press conference after the G7 Summit on Aug. 26 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said Japan would “demand that South Korea honor promises between countries.”

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House on Aug. 29, Moon said, “Japan has yet to even state an honest reason for its economic retaliation. The Japanese Government is trying to rationalize its economic retaliation by baselessly shifting its rhetoric as frequently as necessary.”

“Japan must be honest,” he declared.

The day before, the Japanese government went ahead with removing South Korea from its “white list” of countries benefiting from expedited export review procedures.

“[Japan’s] attitude toward historical issues has been never honest, either,” Moon continued.

“It is an immutable fact that Japan was the perpetrator behind unfortunate chapters of history not only in Korea but also in many other Asian countries,” he said.

“The attitude of the Japanese Government, which neither acknowledges nor repents its past wrongdoings but rather distorts history, only aggravates the wounds and anguish of the victims,” he added.

Noting that Japan’s “preposterous claim to Dokdo – the first part of our territory to fall victim to imperial Japan’s aggression – remains unchanged to this day,” he said it should start “from looking squarely at the past” and “cooperate with the world and move toward the future.”

Moon also took aim at Japan for using its 1965 Claims Settlement Agreement and 2015 comfort women agreement with South Korea to deny the inhumane and criminal actions committed by the Japanese in the past.

“Recollection and self-reflection about the past can never be completed,” he stressed.

“This is not something that can be brought to conclusion just by saying that repentance is over because it was uttered once or that the past is completely over because an agreement was reached once,” he said.

“Japan has to take to heart lessons from Germany which has gained trust from the international community by reflecting on its past sincerely, confirming its past wrongdoings as often as needed and reconciling and working together with neighboring European countries,” he urged.

Discussing Japan’s white list removal measure, he said, “The Japanese Government’s attitude is very regrettable, but we can ably weather this situation.”

“Our Government has already put in place fallback plans from various perspectives. We will thoroughly implement the measures that have been prepared to minimize damage to our economy and businesses,” he continued.

“Crucially, we will take this [situation] as an opportunity to catapult the Korean economy onto a new level by enhancing the competitiveness of manufacturing and other industries,” he added.

“We will also, as a sovereign state, resolutely take steps to respond to Japan’s unwarranted economic retaliation.”

By Seong Yeon-cheol, Staff writer

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