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| ▲ In this file photo, South Korean Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee (C) pays tribute to the victims of Japan's wartime forced labor from the Sado mine complex during World War II, on Sado Island, off Japan's west coast, on Nov. 25, 2024. Seoul officials and the family members held a separate memorial ceremony to honor the victims after boycotting a Japan-hosted event over what South Korea called "disagreements" on the issues related to the event that were unable to be resolved with Japan. (Yonhap) |
(2nd LD) S Korea-Japan-Sado memorial
(2nd LD) S. Korea not to attend Japan's Sado mine memorial event this year: Seoul
(ATTN: ADDS presidential office's remarks in paras 12-13)
By Kim Seung-yeon
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will not attend Japan's memorial ceremony related to its old mine complex where many Koreans were forced to toil during World War II, a Seoul official said Thursday, after it boycotted last year's event over disagreements over ways to honor the victims.
The decision raises concerns that it could become a fresh flashpoint in relations with Japan at a time when the Lee Jae Myung government is seeking to maintain the thaw in ties that had significantly improved under the previous administration.
Holding the memorial ceremony for the Sado mine victims was part of Japan's pledge when the mines were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in late July of last year. Japan committed to holding the event annually.
South Korea boycotted the inaugural memorial event in November, citing Tokyo's lack of sincerity in honoring the victims, and held its own event separately near the Sado site.
The two sides again failed to narrow the gap in their views on how to honor the forced labor victims, despite "serious" negotiations held between the two countries, a foreign ministry official said.
"We could not narrow the differences in opinions over key issues, and we determined that it is difficult to attend the memorial," the official said.
Seoul informed Tokyo of its decision on Wednesday, he added.
One of the key issues was how to describe the "nature of coercion" of the mobilization of Korean workers.
"We believe that it will not be a proper tribute unless we address the origins and nature of their suffering. In other words, the fact that Koreans were mobilized against their will and taken for hard labor must be acknowledged appropriately for the tribute to be meaningful," the official said.
The official also noted that the insufficient time left to arrange the trip and make preparations for the victims' family members was taken into account.
Japan plans to hold this year's memorial event next Saturday, according to diplomatic sources. Like last year, South Korea will hold its own ceremony with the victims' family members, the official said.
The presidential office expressed regret that Japan has failed to acknowledge the coercive nature of Korea's wartime labor mobilization, despite Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledging at their summit last week to build "future-oriented" ties.
"Even with the improved Korea-Japan relations, I think there are still areas where both sides could look deeper or make more effort," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters, calling Japan "a close yet complicated neighbor sharing a border."
Since taking office in June, Lee said he will seek to advance the relations with Tokyo in a forward-looking direction, casting Japan as an important neighbor that "shares the yard" with Seoul and a key partner in the trilateral relationship with the United States.
Lee, at the same time, stressed that his government will squarely face the longstanding historical issues rooted in Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
"As the president has reaffirmed that direction, we hope that Japan will show a more forward-looking attitude on this matter, and we intend to continue talks with the Japanese side in a way that we can properly honor the victims and their families, as well as their sufferings," the official said.
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