Park Jin-Hayashi, first bilateral meeting… I visited Japan for the first time in 4 years and 7 months.
The biggest issue in this meeting, ‘discussing compensation for victims of forced labor’
Local media “The Korean government should create a future-oriented atmosphere”
| ↑ On May 9, 2022, then-foreign minister candidate Park Jin (right) meets Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and exchanges an “elbow greeting” in Seoul. / Photo = provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi hold their first bilateral meeting today (18th). Regarding this, Japanese media emphasized the Japanese government’s position that “Korea will resolve the conflict between the two countries”, saying that the success of this meeting depends on the Korean side.
According to the Japanese NHK and Nikkei (Nikkei) newspapers, Minister Park will visit Japan for three days from today. Minister Park will meet with Foreign Minister Hayashi and pay condolences to the death of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is also reported that a plan to prevent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is being pursued.
This is the first visit to Japan since taking office in May, and it is the first time in four years and seven months since then Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited in December 2017, when the Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Japan for a bilateral meeting with the Japanese foreign minister.
Nikkei pointed out that the stagnant dialogue between the two countries despite being neighboring countries is due to conflicts over past issues. Among them, the biggest issue is the issue of comfort women and forced mobilization.
‘Discussing compensation for victims of forced labor’ is expected to be the biggest issue at this meeting
Previously, the Moon Jae-in government decided to dissolve the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, which was the result of the Korea-Japan agreement on comfort women in November 2018, but the liquidation process was found to be sluggish for nearly four years.
Also, the discussion on compensation for victims of forced labor during the Pacific War is expected to be the biggest issue in this summit.
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| ↑ Headquarters of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan / Photo = Yonhap News |
In October 2018, our Supreme Court ruled that Japan Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries should pay between 100 million won and 150 million won per person to victims of forced labor, respectively, in November of the same year. However, the Japanese side said that the issue of compensation for victims of forced labor was resolved through economic cooperation worth a total of 500 million dollars, which was provided to the Korean government at the time the Korea-Japan Claims Agreement was signed in 1965. claiming to do so.
These past issues have led to economic and security issues. After the Supreme Court ruling on forced labor was finalized, the Japanese government strengthened export regulations for semiconductor core materials to Korea in July 2019, and Korea was excluded from the list of preferential countries for export screening (whitelist). As a result, there was a strong boycott of Japanese products in Korea. The South Korean government also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and notified the cancellation of the Military Information Protection Agreement (GSOMIA). However, it did not destroy the actual GSOMIA at the time.
Nikkei reported that the Yun Seok-yeol administration was hastily to improve relations with Japan right after its inauguration, negating the foreign policy of the previous administration (the Moon Jae-in administration) that had disregarded the United States and Japan, and was showing an attitude of shifting to a US-Japan-focused line.
He also analyzed that if the Korean government does not create a forward-looking atmosphere and do not deal with the past, the momentum for improving Korea-Japan relations could be eroded due to opposition from the Korean public.
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| ↑ Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin / Photo = Yonhap News |
NHK “I will explain to Hayashi the efforts on the Korean side discussed at the last public-private council”
The Yun Seok-yeol administration is putting more weight on strengthening cooperation between the three countries
In response, Minister Park said in a press conference last week that she would try to resolve Japan’s concerns before they become a reality. NHK predicted that Minister Park would explain South Korea’s efforts, discussed at the public-private joint council launched on the 4th, to Foreign Minister Hayashi at this foreign ministers’ meeting.
At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs formed a public-private council with the participation of victims’ litigation representatives, support groups, experts from the academic, legal and economic circles, and former diplomats, and held two meetings. However, some of the victims of forced labor are experiencing pain from the start, such as notifying them of their absence on the day of the second meeting in protest against the Japanese attitude and the South Korean government’s approach.
Meanwhile, the Yun Seok-yeol government
In relation to North Korea, which is speeding up its nuclear and missile development, it is putting more weight on strengthening the cooperation of the three countries. Meanwhile, Minister Park visited the Japanese embassy in Korea on the 11th to express condolences to former Prime Minister Abe, who was killed in the shooting, and emphasized that “Korea and Japan are very important cooperative partners sharing democracy and a market economy.”
[이지민 디지털뉴스부 인턴기자 gmat123@naver.com]
