dailies-editorials (1)
(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on July 6)
Move toward future
Korea, Japan should resolve historical issues
Business leaders of South Korea and Japan have agreed to work together to help the two countries mend their soured relations. During their annual meeting in Seoul on Monday, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, adopted an eight-point joint statement that stressed the importance of bilateral economic cooperation.
The meeting was the first of its kind since it was put on hold due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was held against the backdrop of prolonged disputes over historical issues, such as wartime forced labor and sex slavery. The resumption of the gathering is meaningful as the business leaders have committed to a deepening partnership between the two sides.
The leaders have urged both Seoul and Tokyo to lift export restrictions and expand personal exchanges by resuming a visa waiver program which was halted due to the pandemic. They have agreed to collaborate in helping the two countries strike a currency swap deal again to better cope with a potential shortage of foreign exchange reserves. Besides, they have promised to support Seoul's push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) involving Japan and 10 other nations.
More importantly, FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo and Keidanren Chairman Masakazu Tokura called on the leaders of the two countries to hold a summit at an early date to solve pending bilateral issues and restore economic ties. They also expressed hopes for the promotion of the spirit of the 1998 joint statement between then President Kim Dae-jung and then Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi which contributed to closer bilateral cooperation.
The declaration was lauded for ushering in better ties between the two nations as Obuchi sincerely apologized for the damage and pain Japan inflicted on Koreans during its 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. If President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida advocate the declaration's spirit, they could pool their wisdom to improve the Seoul-Tokyo ties which have hit the lowest level since the 1965 diplomatic normalization.
In his meeting with Tokura, Yoon stressed the need for the two countries to build a future-oriented partnership. We hope Seoul and Tokyo will hold a summit sooner than later to discuss all thorny issues, bury the hatchet and move toward friendship. We urge Tokyo to ease its hardline stance that Seoul should first come up with solutions to the reparations issue regarding forced labor during World War II.
Korea has now launched a private-public consultative body to find a viable solution to the dispute caused by the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling that ordered Japanese firms to pay compensation to surviving Korean victims of forced labor. Japan needs to take a flexible attitude and cooperate in resolving the row. Otherwise, the two nations cannot seize the opportunity to heal the wounds of the past and move toward the future.
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