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Ambassadors based in Seoul, including US Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris, listen to a presentation by South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha about the South Korean government’s preventative measures to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak at the National Assembly on Mar. 6. (photo pool)

A day after the Japanese government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suspended visa-free entry for South Koreans and announced 14-day quarantines and other measures in response to the spreading novel coronavirus, the South Korean government responded immediately with its own suspension of visa exemptions and imposition of special entry procedures for Japanese nationals. Its approach signaled its intent to respond forcefully to Japan’s measures, which it deemed to be an “unfriendly diplomatic action” motivated by political aims beyond disease control.

Prior to First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Se-young’s official announcement on Mar. 6 of four measures in response to Japan’s actions, expressions of strong dismay over Tokyo’s decision to unilaterally adopt its measures without any prior discussions with Seoul were reportedly shared at a meeting of the Blue House’s National Security Council standing committee that morning.

“Despite the associated difficulties, we’ve been trying our best to refrain from external measures and engaging in mutual discussions in response to the coronavirus situation, while pursuing principles of openness and transparency,” a senior Blue House official said.

“Yet the Japanese government announced its measures unilaterally, without any discussion with the South Korean government. We have determined that corresponding measures are in order where our closest neighbor behaves in such a way,” the official added.

The argument is that Seoul cannot simply ignore Japan’s surprise announcement without any prior discussions or notification on a matter that can severely impact on a relationship involving close personnel and material exchanges, as evidenced by the 5.6 million South Koreans who visited Japan last year alone.

The “brazenness” of the Japanese government’s stance also reportedly drew an indignant response.

“Japan’s level of coronavirus prevention and testing is far poorer than South Korea’s, and the risk is even greater with the lack of transparency regarding the actual number of confirmed infections,” a Blue House official said.

“It’s incomprehensible that Japan would then turn around and intensify its entry restrictions on South Korea,” the official added. While South Korea has been testing around 13,000 people per day for the coronavirus and sharing its results in a transparent matter, official Ministry of Health and Welfare figures put the number of people tested in Japan at 6,777 as of Mar. 5, with reports suggesting the total number is no higher than around 8,000 even when cruise ship and provincial testing are factored in. Within Japan, a growing number of people are blasting Abe for what they call an attempt to minimize the number of infections and cover up the situation for the sake of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, with some suggesting Abe has resorted to politically motivated “Korea bashing” as a way out of his predicament.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Mar. 6 that it “cannot help suspecting a different motive besides disease control.” Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper also said the Japanese government’s measures “show a glimmer of political motivation” and “suggest the aim of [Abe] attempting to stage a ‘leadership display.’”

With a total of 102 countries and territories currently restricting entry to travelers arriving from South Korea, conservative media and politicians have been accusing Seoul of focusing only on Japan without any particular response to the quarantining of South Korean nationals by China and others.

“In the case of China, we’ve already adopted various measures, including special entry procedures,” a MOFA official said in response.

“The situation [with measures on South Korean nationals] has been improving through discussions with China’s local government,” the official added, stressing the differences between the Japanese and Chinese situations.

According to this explanation, the difference in the case of China is that the South Korean government has already barred entries from Hubei Province and Wuhan and implemented special entry procedures for travelers arriving from China, while China’s quarantine measures for South Korean nationals have been imposed at the local government level.

The South Korean government’s position is that Japan acted improperly in suddenly restricting South Korean arrivals without prior discussions or notifications in response to fears among the Japanese government -- despite having adequate disease control capabilities -- and adopting measures without scientific basis even as South Korea has avoided imposing entry restrictions of its own despite the spread of coronavirus in Japan.

The suspension of visa-free entries between South Korea and Japan comes 18 years after they were introduced for the two sides’ joint hosting of the World Cup in 2002. The situation illustrates the current state of South Korea-Japan relations, which are headed for turbulence once again after the conflict last year over Japan’s export control measures on South Korea and a resolution of the issue of forced labor mobilization during the Japanese occupation.

By Park Min-hee and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporters

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