President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their will to normalize bilateral relations through a summit last week. Diplomats say that the summit between the two countries has put in the ‘first button’ to improve Korea-Japan relations, which have been strained due to controversies surrounding the resolution of compensation for victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation.
However, in Korea, criticism of the Korean government’s solution to forced labor still continues, and controversy continues because Japan did not take additional ‘responsive’ measures at this meeting. For this reason, some point out that the Japanese side needs to show a more forward-looking attitude regarding the issue of forced labor during Prime Minister Kishida’s future visit.
President Yoon visited Tokyo, Japan for two days from the 16th and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Kishida. It was the first time in 12 years since then-President Lee Myung-bak in 2021 that our leaders visited Japan on a bilateral level. At the meeting, the leaders of Korea and Japan agreed to normalize the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), lift export restrictions from Japan, and resume shuttle diplomacy.
However, in relation to a series of past historical issues between Korea and Japan, including the issue of forced labor, which drove the relationship between the two countries to deteriorate after the Supreme Court ruling in 2018, there is also an evaluation that in fact ‘no visible progress’ has been made.
On the 6th of this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin, announcing the Korean government’s solution to compensation for the damages caused by forced labor, said, “I think the water cup is more than half full. do,” he said.
However, in a joint press conference after the summit, Prime Minister Kishida only stated, “We inherit the historical awareness of previous cabinets, including the 1998 ‘Korea-Japan Joint Declaration’ (Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration)” It did not specifically mention ‘apology’ and ‘reflection’.
Officials in the South Korean government say, “Restoration of Korea-Japan relations is just the beginning,” and expect to elicit an “advanced response” from the Japanese side through follow-up discussions between the two countries. At that time, the view that “it is difficult to be sure that we will be able to speed up as much as our expectations” is also suggested.
This is because Prime Minister Kishida and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan have no choice but to be conscious of the public opinion trend of conservative supporters domestically as they are facing unification local elections and by-elections for the House of Representatives next month.
Choi Eun-mi, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, also predicted, “As of now, the Japanese side has not actually done anything in particular (regarding our proposal of a solution to forced labor),” and predicted that “it will take time” until additional measures are taken in the future.
Regarding Prime Minister Kishida’s future visit to Korea, Commissioner Choi said, “At that time, it is difficult to find significance just by meeting (the heads of the two countries), so results must come out.” . Commissioner Choi also mentioned, “I don’t know what Prime Minister Kishida will say when he visits Korea, but I think he should give some comfort (to the victims of forced labor).”
Source: Donga