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Lee Man-yeol, chair of the board of directors of Independence, a civic group

The South Korean civic group Independence released a statement Tuesday in which it said it “sternly denounces Japan’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat as a country without remorse for its war crimes.”

On the fact that US President Joe Biden expressed his support for Japan becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council during his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida while visiting Tokyo on Monday, the civic group, for which Lee Man-yeol serves as chair of the board of directors, pointed out that “the problem is the revival of Japan the war state.”

Since the 1990s, Japan has argued based on its funding power as a country that pays the third-most dues to the UN that it as well as Germany, India, and Brazil — or the so-called G4 nations — should be included as permanent members of the UN Security Council. Recently, it has once again ramped up its diplomatic campaign for the cause by citing the fact that a UN resolution denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was vetoed by Russia.

Independence’s statement argued, “We designate Japan’s attempt as a regression that buries away peace in Northeast Asia and the neighborly friendship between South Korea and Japan. Moreover, we clearly warn that this regression will result in Japan’s isolation.”

The civic group also addressed part of its statement to South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration, writing, “The maneuvers of Japan’s far-right forces should be firmly responded to. South Korea is not a country that simply fell from the sky. It’s a country that was recovered through the blood of martyrs who fought against Japanese occupation. The sharing of such a historical consciousness should predicate future-oriented neighborly friendship between South Korea and Japan.”

“We warn that if Japan the war state is revived, history will hold the Yoon Suk-yeol administration accountable.”

By Kim Kyung-ae, senior staff writer

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