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| Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min speaks during a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea and Japan have entered a new chapter in their bilateral relations after the summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held earlier this month, according to Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min, Monday.
The ambassador said he is already feeling a positive shift in Japanese public sentiment on Korea, stressing that even right-wing Japanese are supporting bilateral cooperation.
"It seems that an environment has been created based on which the Kishida administration can more actively address issues on relations with Korea," he said during a press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He arrived in Seoul to attend an annual meeting of top Korean envoys abroad which kicked off earlier in the day.
Saying that there are broadly two types of Japanese right wing groups ― one which focuses on security issues and the other which emphasizes the nation's historical identity ― he explained, "The group which focuses on national security is calling for partnerships with Korea. This change can be felt throughout the Japanese authorities."
The ambassador, who took office in July 2022, recalled that relations between Seoul and Tokyo were deeply frozen to an unprecedented level back then. Japan's open hostility toward Korea seemed to have stemmed from an array of disputes such as wartime sex slavery and forced labor issues along with the military radar incident, he said.
"The two sides had lost trust in each other," Yun told reporters. "I was tasked with bringing back relations to those of the best of times."
In that sense, the ambassador commented that the Korean government's recent proposal on compensating forced labor victims was a "difficult decision" respecting both the 1965 treaty and 2018 Supreme Court ruling, which contradict each other.
On March 6, the Korean government announced a plan to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a public fund, without direct involvement of responsible Japanese firms. The government called for "voluntary participation" of the Japanese companies to the fund, but the businesses have yet to give any response.
Less than two weeks after the announcement, on March 16, Yoon traveled to Tokyo for a summit with Kishida, which served as a breakthrough moment in mending the years-long strained ties.
However, forced labor victims and their advocates, as well as liberal lawmakers, have denounced the Yoon administration for overlooking past historical disputes in his push to smooth out relations with Japan.
Critics also pointed out the Japanese government's lack of "sincere response" to the Korean government's diplomatic concession. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi claimed that "Japan did not engage in forced labor," two days after the Korean government's announcement on the resolution.
Regarding this, a senior foreign ministry official said on Monday, "It was regretful that he has made such remarks amid the Korean government's deep efforts (to resolve the issue.)"
The official also vowed "appropriate response" against any historical distortions by the Japanese government.
According to local reports, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is expected to announce on Tuesday the approval of history textbooks that justify wartime forced labor. The newly revised version of the textbook used at elementary schools is likely to omit the term "forced," while describing the Dokdo islets as Japanese territory.
