S. Korea submits revised report to U.N. on Japan's wartime forced labor

▲ Foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk speaks during a press briefing in Seoul in this file photo taken Aug. 22, 2023. (Yonhap)

forced labor-UN report

S. Korea submits revised report to U.N. on Japan's wartime forced labor

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, Dec. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Tuesday that it has submitted a revised report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on the issue of Japan's wartime forced labor, after the initial version drew criticism with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks being suggested as Tokyo's official apology.

In an August U.N. report on the state of the promotion of truth, justice and reparations in South Korea, the government included the remarks Kishida had made during the May summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol that "My heart hurts as many people suffered such difficulty and grief under the harsh environment."

Kishida's comments, introduced under the "official apology" subsection of the report, sparked backlash from civic groups, with critics accusing the government of distorting the truth by making Kishida's personal opinion look like an official apology from the Japanese government.

The foreign ministry said later it was considering submitting a revised version of the report.

In the revised report shown on the U.N. website Tuesday, it left Kishida's remarks unchanged and added: "Some victims and bereaved families of forced labor continue to demand an official apology and compensation from the Japanese government and companies."

The revised statement includes a text "objectively reflecting the situation that requires an official apology for the forced labor issue, similar to the part related to sexual slavery by the Japanese military," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a briefing.

"We intend to make efforts to create a future-oriented relationship by consistently and faithfully inheriting the spirit of the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration, in which the Japanese government expressed an apology for colonial rule," Lim said, referring to a 1998 joint declaration adopted by the then leaders of the two countries.

In the declaration, the two leaders called for overcoming the past and building new relations, with Obuchi expressing remorse for the "horrendous damage and pain" Japan's colonial rule inflicted on the Korean people.

Many Koreans were forced to toil at Japanese mines and munitions factories against their will during World War II, when South Korea was a Japanese colony, and the issue has remained a major thorn in bilateral relations.

Tokyo has maintained that all reparation issues related to the 1910-45 colonization of Korea were settled in the 1965 deal to normalize bilateral diplomatic ties.

In March this year, the Yoon Suk Yeol government announced it will compensate the forced labor victims on its own without asking for contributions from the Japanese companies, leading to a significant warming of bilateral relations and the resumption of reciprocal visits by leaders.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved