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President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to the Washington Post from the presidential office in Seoul’s Yongsan District. (courtesy of the presidential office)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has touched off a controversy by stating in an interview with the Washington Post that he doesn’t intend to ask Japan for an apology for its imperial war crimes. Korea’s ruling party embarrassed itself by hastily accusing the newspaper of mistranslating Yoon’s remarks. It’s discouraging to see ruling party members scrambling to cover for the president amid their shock over his senseless attitude toward history.

Yoon said in the interview, which was published Monday, that he “can’t accept the notion” that Japan should be forced to kneel “because of what happened 100 years ago.” His rationale is that Korea’s security situation is extremely perilous.

“Europe has experienced several wars for the past 100 years and despite that, warring countries have found ways to cooperate for the future,” Yoon said. But whereas the aggressors in those European wars paid reparations and made apologies to the victims, Japan has neither acknowledged nor apologized for the crimes against humanity during the colonial era, including its “comfort women” system of military sexual slavery and the compulsory mobilization of Koreans for forced labor.

At the same time, Yoon said he “did [his] best” to persuade the Korean public of his opinion. In effect, the Korean president is twisting the arm of the Korean public, and all for the benefit of Japan.

When Yoon’s comments came under scrutiny, the ruling People Power Party raised the possibility of a mistranslation. The party spokesperson said in a statement that it was “sensible” to assume that when Yoon spoke about rejecting the idea of being forced to kneel, the subject was supposed to be Japan, not Yoon. The spokesperson trashed the opposition party for having “lost its senses” by “provoking anti-Japanese sentiment without even confirming [Yoon’s] actual remarks.”

But then the Washington Post reporter released a transcript of Yoon’s remarks in Korean. In the transcript, it’s clear that Yoon is the one who “can’t accept the notion [. . .] that they must kneel.” While it’s strange that the ruling party would make such a brash claim without even checking with the presidential office first, that just goes to show how even Yoon’s own party could see that the president was taking Japan’s side in his remarks.

The presidential office’s attempt to put a positive spin on Yoon’s remarks raised eyebrows as well. Yoon’s spokesperson bizarrely claimed that Yoon’s remarks are similar to something that former President Kim Dae-jung once said. The spokesperson noted that Kim, while president, said during a speech before the Japanese Diet in 1998 that “it would be foolish to nullify a 1,500-year history of cooperation and exchange because of an unfortunate period that only lasted for 50 years.”

But Kim also made clear during the same speech that the Japanese government “needs true courage to squarely face the past and contemplate the terrors of history.” On top of that, Keizo Obuchi, then prime minister of Japan, spoke of “deep remorse” and a “heartfelt apology” for Japan’s colonial rule over Korea.

Cherry-picking remarks that serve one’s own narrative while omitting the surrounding context amounts to deceiving the public.

Yoon’s attitude toward history would be problematic enough if not for the People Power Party’s slavish attempts to shield him. Party members need to realize that their senseless reactions are further inflaming distrust in their leadership.

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