{"id":2200419,"date":"2023-03-16T13:48:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T04:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200419"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:07:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:07:55","slug":"yoon-travels-to-tokyo-seeking-reset-between-south-korea-and-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/03\/yoon-travels-to-tokyo-seeking-reset-between-south-korea-and-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon travels to Tokyo seeking reset between South Korea and Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol <\/span>left<\/span><\/a> for Tokyo on Thursday morning for a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The trip follows Seoul\u2019s <\/span>tentative proposal to resolve<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to colonial-era grievances over forced labor issues, which strained relations between the two countries for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s visit marks the first bilateral presidential trip to Japan in more than 11 years. Although President Moon Jae-in <\/span>visited<\/span><\/a> Japan in 2019, it was for a Group of 20 (G20) summit, not a bilateral visit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But as Seoul and Tokyo seek a reset, significant challenges lie ahead for both Yoon and Kishida.<\/span><\/p>\n

DETERIORATING TIES<\/b><\/p>\n

ROK-Japan ties hit a nadir after South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court opted to allow individuals to pursue claims against the country\u2019s former colonizer \u2014 specifically, survivors and families of Korean people who were forced to work for the Imperial Japanese war machine in the 1940s.<\/span><\/p>\n

The court <\/span>ruled<\/span><\/a> in favor of these claimants in 2018 and <\/span>froze<\/span><\/a> the assets of two Japanese firms \u2014 Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi \u2014 implicated in forced wartime labor. Tokyo objected and <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> at the time that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would not visit South Korea unless Seoul would guarantee that Japanese assets seized in a South Korean court ruling to compensate wartime forced laborers would not be liquidated.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Yoon administration put forward a plan \u2014 albeit a controversial one \u2014 to resolve the issue with a public foundation funded by South Korean businesses, such as POSCO, which was one of the corporate beneficiaries of the 1965 treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Japan has long maintained that that treaty resolved all reparation issues that resulted from its occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. As such, Yoon\u2019s plan does not include participation by Japanese firms or an apology from the Japanese government \u2014 both of which are <\/span>core demands<\/span><\/a> of the victims.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korean voters appear unsupportive of the deal, but Yoon has pushed ahead nonetheless and now finds himself in a position to begin rebuilding ties directly with the Japanese prime minister himself. Yoon <\/span>described<\/span><\/a> his \u201cdetermination\u201d to move toward a \u201cfuture-oriented relationship\u201d between South Korea and Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon has stressed the importance of improving the bilateral ties with Tokyo to effectively counter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. For instance, ROK government officials have frequently mentioned the need to \u201c<\/span>normalize<\/span><\/a>\u201d the General Security of Military Intelligence Agreement (GSOMIA), a military intelligence sharing pact signed by Seoul and Tokyo in 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, ROK officials have not spoken much about the possibility of Japan lifting <\/span>export restrictions<\/span><\/a> that it imposed on South Korea in 2019 after the Supreme Court decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> the export curbs are separate from the forced labor dispute.<\/span><\/p>\n

The controls limit the export of materials needed for semiconductor manufacturing. After the U.S. Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act, which <\/span>negatively impacts<\/span><\/a> South Korean chip manufacturers in China, ROK officials are keen to improve trade relations with Tokyo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

President Yoon Suk-yeol presides over the 14th Emergency Economic and Public Welfare Meeting, March 15, 2023 | Image: ROK Presidential Office<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

DEJA VU<\/b><\/p>\n

Much about the trip remained under wraps even after South Korean national security adviser Kim Sung-han briefed reporters a day before Yoon\u2019s departure, reflecting the cautious approach Seoul and Tokyo are taking to this summit.<\/span><\/p>\n

A similar dispute over history led to what the country\u2019s former leaders Park Geun-hye and Shinzo Abe described as the \u201c<\/span>final and irreversible<\/span><\/a>\u201d comfort women deal of 2015. However, the deal collapsed less than two years later when Moon Jae-in took office in Seoul. He and most of his Democratic Party (DP) were weary of any deal with Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is likely suspicion among Japanese officials that this forced labor deal will also be ephemeral. This is especially important as Kishida was the Japanese <\/span>foreign minister<\/span><\/a> who oversaw the 2015 comfort women deal. Then-Foreign Minister Kishida <\/span>issued<\/span><\/a> a formal public apology on behalf of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to all the South Korean victims who suffered as comfort women. Kishida will not likely wish to be seen as repeating the 2015 deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, much will depend on Tokyo when it comes to whether this deal will survive or improve relations. Yoon has taken a lot of risk to push for this deal and visit. About 59% of South Koreans oppose it and the main opposition DP has <\/span>called<\/span><\/a> the deal \u201cthe worst diplomatic humiliation the country has ever seen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon knows that his actions are not popular, and he will not be able to sustain his rapprochement effort with Tokyo if Kishida does not reciprocate in some way.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is <\/span>speculation<\/span><\/a> that Kishida could visit South Korea in May after the conclusion of the G7 summit in Hiroshima \u2014 a meeting that Yoon could be invited to attend \u2014 but pageantry alone will not be sufficient to give Yoon the lifeline that he needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s national interest will depend on Yoon\u2019s political survival. However, it remains to be seen if Kishida will be able to overcome his suspicions to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Arius Derr<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol left for Tokyo on Thursday morning for a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The trip follows Seoul\u2019s tentative proposal to resolve\u00a0to colonial-era grievances over forced labor issues, which strained relations between the two countries for years. Yoon\u2019s visit marks the first bilateral presidential trip to Japan in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2200324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[28],"yoast_head":"\nYoon travels to Tokyo seeking reset between South Korea and Japan - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/03\/yoon-travels-to-tokyo-seeking-reset-between-south-korea-and-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yoon travels to Tokyo seeking reset between South Korea and Japan - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol left for Tokyo on Thursday morning for a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. 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