Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Uncertainty over Sado mine memorial puts Lee Jae Myung's Japan policy to test
Mannequins demonstrating workers are displayed at the Sado mine site on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, July 28, 2024. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Memorial unlikely to take place before September: foreign ministry
Uncertainty over a planned memorial honoring Korean victims of forced labor at a former Japanese mine complex is emerging as an early test of President Lee Jae Myung's approach to relations with Japan.
Lee, who has signaled a willingness to maintain stable ties with Tokyo despite lingering historical grievances, may face diplomatic fallout depending on how Japan addresses the dark legacy of the Sado mine site, where approximately 1,500 Koreans were forced to work during Japan's 1910–45 colonial rule.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is unlikely the annual ceremony will be held this summer due to stalled negotiations.
"Last year, the event was inevitably delayed due to the timing of the site's UNESCO inscription at the end of July. This year, it appears that holding the ceremony in the summer has again become difficult amid ongoing discussions," a ministry official said.
Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong declined to comment Tuesday on the details of the memorial, saying that discussions are underway with Japan.
Hosting an annual memorial near the Sado mine complex site in Niigata Prefecture was part of a bilateral agreement reached last July, when the site — a former gold mining facility used during World War II — was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
With Korea’s consent critical to the heritage designation, Japan agreed to acknowledge the site’s wartime history by holding an annual ceremony in July or August to honor those forced to work there, including Korean victims.
However, the inaugural ceremony, which was belatedly held in November, ended in a diplomatic feud.
Guests offer a moment of silence during a memorial ceremony, Nov. 24, 2024, for laborers who worked in the Sado mines in Japan's Niigata Prefecture, as seats reserved for Korean guests remain empty. The Korean government had announced the previous day that it would skip the event, citing unresolved disagreements with Japan over the ceremony’s arrangements. AP-Yonhap
Korean officials boycotted the event at the last minute, citing unresolved disagreements with Tokyo over key arrangements. The decision was reportedly driven mainly by dissatisfaction with Japan's choice of its representative and the wording of the memorial speech, which failed to directly acknowledge the coercive nature of Korean labor at the site.
The Korean government held its own separate memorial near the Sado site, attended by several families of forced labor victims.
Should this year's memorial again be disrupted or held without full agreement between the two nations, the annual event could become a recurring source of tension, complicating the Korean president's efforts to maintain stable bilateral relations.
Lee, who held a hardline stance on Japan's colonial history before becoming president, has so far refrained from direct confrontation since taking office on June 4.
During his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on June 17, the Korean president emphasized the importance of cooperation with Japan, calling it an "inseparable" neighboring country.
Lee's current tone stands in sharp contrast to his earlier rhetoric as leader of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, when he was a fierce critic of the Yoon administration's Japan policy, denouncing it as "submissive."
At the time, Lee strongly condemned the Sado mine memorial held last year, calling it "one of the worst diplomatic blunders since Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule."
President Lee Jae Myung shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a summit in Canada, June 17 (local time), on the sidelines of the G7 summit. Yonhap
Diplomatic observers say negotiations over this year's memorial are expected to face similar challenges, as the two countries remain fundamentally divided in their understanding of the event's implications.
"Japan sees the ceremony as an event marking the UNESCO inscription and honoring both Japanese and Korean laborers. In contrast, the Korean government views it as a solemn occasion to acknowledge and mourn the suffering of Korean victims of forced labor," said Yang Ki-ho, a professor of Japanese studies at Sungkonghoe University.
"That fundamental difference in perspective makes it difficult to narrow the gap under any administration," he added.
Yang also noted that, given the domestic political pressures facing the Ishiba administration, Japan is unlikely to offer meaningful concessions on the memorial’s narrative.
"With the Ishiba Cabinet grappling with sluggish approval ratings, it has little political room to make concessions that would satisfy the Korean side," he said. "This may ultimately lead the Lee administration to skip the joint memorial again and instead hold a separate commemorative event, as it did last year."