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Prime Minister and acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks at a cabinet meeting at the Central Government Complex in Seoul

“It’s advisable to refrain from words or actions that could aggravate the situation,” said Prime Minister and acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn on Jan. 10. Hwang was speaking of the intensifying dispute between South Korea and Japan over the comfort woman statue that has been set up in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan.

Hwang made the remarks while presiding over the cabinet meeting on the morning of Jan. 10. “Concerns are being voiced in various areas about bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan in relation to the comfort women issue,” he said. Hwang’s remarks on Jan. 10 were his first on the issue since the Japanese government decided on Jan. 6 to temporarily recall its ambassador to South Korea and its consul to Busan and to suspend negotiations about a currency swap with South Korea in protest of the comfort woman statue in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan.

“The point of the bilateral [Dec. 28, 2015] comfort women agreement was to acknowledge the involvement of the [Japanese] military and the responsibility of the Japanese government, to express an apology and remorse, to restore the reputations and dignity of the victims and to heal their emotional wounds through the programs of the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, which was funded by a donation from the Japanese government as part of its implementation of the agreement,” Hwang said.

“It’s necessary not only for the governments of South Korea and Japan but indeed for all interested parties to keep working to develop our bilateral relations while respecting the spirit and intent of the agreement. In regard to the comfort women issue, it’s advisable to refrain from words or actions that could aggravate the situation if we wish to develop our bilateral relations in a future-oriented manner,” he said.

Hwang‘s remarks can be interpreted as sending a simultaneous message not only to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is taking a hard line on the issue of the comfort woman statue, but also to South Korean opposition politicians, who have attacked the Dec. 28 agreement.

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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