{"id":2198236,"date":"2022-08-15T18:47:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T09:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2198236"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:45","slug":"yoon-urges-south-korea-japan-to-move-on-but-history-keeps-bubbling-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/08\/yoon-urges-south-korea-japan-to-move-on-but-history-keeps-bubbling-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon urges South Korea and Japan to move on. But history keeps bubbling up."},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pitched the need to improve relations with Korea\u2019s former colonial rulers on Monday, the holiday when the country celebrates its liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. But an imminent court ruling on World War II-era forced labor means his efforts may all be for naught.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a speech to mark South Korea\u2019s Liberation Day, Yoon <\/span>stressed the future-oriented vision<\/span><\/a> he has for relations with a country with which it shares a poisonous history but overlapping security concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon contrasted \u201ctoday\u201d with \u201cthe past,\u201d asserting that while Koreans had to \u201cunshackle\u201d themselves from Imperial Japan, Tokyo is now Seoul\u2019s \u201cpartner\u201d since the two face \u201ccommon threats that challenge the freedom of global citizens.\u201d He then segued into discussing perhaps their biggest shared threat \u2014 North Korea\u2019s nuclear program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s weapons are capable of striking both countries, and in the absence of a diplomatic solution or an <\/span>effective sanctions campaign<\/span><\/a>, its missile program is <\/span>only getting deadlier<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this, especially Yoon\u2019s willingness to move on from the past, is music to Washington\u2019s ears. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo deteriorated during the previous Moon Jae-in administration, jeopardizing trilateral cooperation with the U.S.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, friction over a South Korean <\/span>court ruling<\/span><\/a> to compensate forced laborers during World War II led to Japanese <\/span>economic retaliation<\/span><\/a>, and Seoul <\/span>almost withdrew<\/span><\/a> from an important intelligence-sharing agreement in response.<\/span><\/p>\n

But while South Korea\u2019s leadership may have changed its tune on Japan, the forced labor issue hasn\u2019t gone anywhere. And that means relations with Japan, far from heading toward reconciliation, are set to drop to another new low.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The U.S. wants South Korea and Japan to improve their relations | Image: The White House<\/a> (June 29, 2022)<\/p><\/div>\n

MAKING JAPAN PAY<\/b><\/p>\n

This coming Friday, South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court is <\/span>expected to decide<\/span><\/a> on one of the cases related to the forced labor issue.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2018, the Supreme Court ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Inc. and Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate the victims. However, the Japanese side maintains that Seoul and Tokyo settled all issues concerning forced labor when they <\/span>established diplomatic relations<\/span><\/a> and signed the <\/span>\u201cAgreement on the settlement of problems concerning property and claims and on economic cooperation\u201d<\/span><\/a> in 1965.<\/span><\/p>\n

The companies\u2019 refusal to pay means that South Korea might compensate the victims by liquidating their assets. If this happens, Japan has warned \u201c<\/span>there\u2019s no going back<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to prevent this fallout, the Yoon administration has tried to mediate between the parties to find a relevant solution. But it\u2019s had no luck so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

Foreign minister Park Jin went to Tokyo and stressed his country\u2019s desire to improve relations in meetings with his Japanese counterpart <\/span>Yoshimasa Hayashi<\/span><\/a> and Prime Minister <\/span>Fumio Kishida<\/span><\/a> in mid-July. Park met Hayashi <\/span>again<\/span><\/a> on the sidelines of the ASEAN ministerial meetings at the beginning of August.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Tokyo has yet to budge. It looks like Japan isn\u2019t interested in promises and intentions \u2014 it wants results.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

South Korean foreign minister Park Jin (left) meets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida | Image: Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/a> (July 19, 2022)<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in South Korea, the Yoon administration <\/span>launched<\/span><\/a> a public-private consultative group between government officials and the victims in early July.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it again <\/span>failed to reach a consensus<\/span><\/a> in its third and most recent meeting on Aug. 9, in which the victims reportedly didn’t even participate<\/a>. South Korea\u2019s foreign ministry <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> \u201cit will be difficult\u201d to hold any more meetings before Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The victims have previously <\/span>demanded<\/span><\/a> direct negotiations with the Japanese companies and <\/span>rejected<\/span><\/a> the idea of receiving compensation from the South Korean government in their place.<\/span><\/p>\n

This <\/span>suggests<\/span><\/a> that the case is just as much, or maybe more, about making Japan take responsibility for its actions than the payment itself.<\/span><\/p>\n

DOWNWARD SPIRAL<\/b><\/p>\n

If South Korea does liquidate the assets, Japan will likely take retaliatory action.<\/span><\/p>\n

While it isn\u2019t clear exactly what this would entail, South Korea\u2019s new Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> last week that it could \u201cadd up to an astronomical figure in the tens or hundreds of trillions of won\u201d \u2014 the equivalent of tens of billions of U.S. dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps in anticipation of this, Yun also called for suspending any decision on the sale of Japanese assets, hoping to win time for more talks. This echoed <\/span>reports<\/span><\/a> that the ROK foreign ministry made a similar request to the Supreme Court, apparently without giving notice to the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

But with neither side showing signs of compromise thus far, this might just be delaying the inevitable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Japan wants South Korea to follow its interpretation of previous agreements | Image: U.S. Department of State<\/a> (Jan. 23, 2014)<\/p><\/div>\n

If \u2014 or when \u2014 this all happens, South Koreans will see any economic measures as yet more evidence of Tokyo\u2019s unwillingness to confront its past. <\/span>Just like in 2019<\/span><\/a>, after the last round of Japanese retaliatory measures, they will probably conduct anti-Japan rallies and their own economic boycotts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon will be in a difficult position to stop this, since he enjoys very little support from the South Korean electorate and his approval rating <\/span>continues to plummet<\/span><\/a>. And advocating closer ties with Tokyo remains a difficult sell to ROK voters.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, as South Korea-Japan ties deteriorate, North Korea only looks set to strengthen relations with <\/span>China<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Russia<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The whole situation is a ticking time bomb, and the Yoon administration might only have days to defuse it before it\u2019s too late.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Bryan Betts<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Culture & Society<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pitched the need to improve relations with Korea\u2019s former colonial rulers on Monday, the holiday when the country celebrates its liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. But an imminent court ruling on World War II-era forced labor means his efforts may all be for naught. In a speech to mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3665,"featured_media":2198238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[25,28],"yoast_head":"\nYoon urges South Korea and Japan to move on. 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