hankyoreh

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at the signing of a revision to the Government Organization Act on March 2 at the presidential office in Seoul. (presidential office pool photo)

President Yoon Suk-yeol is facing fierce public backlash after stating that Japan has changed from a “military aggressor to a cooperative partner.” Yoon has made improving ties with Tokyo his biggest diplomatic goal for his second year in office and is expecting a positive response from Japan. Nevertheless, given the difficulty of resolving several thorny historical issues between the two countries, some argue it’s difficult to justify such a policy or find any tangible advantages.

In his speech commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement, Yoon characterized Japan as a “cooperative partner,” adding that Korea “must look back to that time when we lost our national sovereignty; the time when our people suffered because we failed to properly prepare for a changing world.”

As controversy arose over Yoon’s words, a key official from the presidential office met with reporters the following day to clear up the matter.

“The core point [of yesterday’s speech] was the importance of cooperation between South Korea and Japan to overcome security and economic crises,” the official said.

“It seems that there are two [kinds of] forces in our two countries. One force [aims to] overcome the past and move toward the future while the other force uses anti-Japanese and anti-Korean sentiment to make political gains,” the official continued, adding that “the wise people will judge which side is more concerned about the country’s interests.”

This response, however, seems to be based on a wedge-driving strategy of attacking anyone who raises doubts about Yoon’s view of history, accusing such people of having political intentions.

Yoon has been wanting to improve ties with Japan since before taking office. Soon after his inauguration, Yoon made clear that his first foreign policy goal regarding Japan would be to “restore shuttle diplomacy.”

This also served as a proactive response to the US foreign policy goal of strengthening its economic and security bloc through trilateral cooperation involving South Korea, the US and Japan.

Yoon’s intention to conclude negotiations with Japan on the issue of compensation for victims of Japan’s forced mobilization before the South Korea-US summit being planned for April also seems to have been reflected in his speech. The South Korean president’s actions are also closely aligned with Washington’s expectations.

On Wednesday, Ned Price, the US State department spokesman, said the US supports Yoon’s “vision for a more cooperative, future-oriented relationship with Japan.”

A senior White House official also said they were “impressed” by the South Korean president’s speech, saying Yoon “demonstrated political courage.”

However, negotiations between the governments of South Korea and Japan to finally resolve the forced labor issue have yet to result in a feasible agreement acceptable by all relevant parties.

“I know that the Japanese government has decided that the accused companies, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will not take part in compensation for damages caused,” a source in the foreign policy field told the Hankyoreh on Thursday. In response, a presidential office official refuted the claim, saying it “contravened facts” but didn’t give any specific details to elaborate.

It is difficult to convince the domestic public to accept a solution in which the accused Japanese companies don’t directly take part but instead compensation is offered by a third party. In addition, Yoon’s preoccupation with hastily wrapping up the issue could end up touching off a massive storm of public criticism.

“In the situation in which the Korean Peninsula finds itself, where continental and maritime powers confront each other, we urgently require wise behavior that promotes our interests beyond [political] camps,” says Lee Man-yeol, chairman of the civic group Independence and former chairman of the National Institute of Korean History.

“President Yoon's perception of reality, which is stuck in the framework of [political] camps, is deplorable,” Lee added.

Cho Seong-ryoul, South Korea’s former consul general in Osaka, also shared his views on the issue, saying, “The Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations viewed the past and the future as issues related to [specific periods of time], but did not separate the two.”

“The problem is the presidential office’s perception of trying to separate historical issues that are inseparable from current issues in South Korea-Japan relations.”

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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