Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Opposition party floor leader raps Abe for trade retaliation
Rep. Na Kyung-won, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), speaks during a speech at the National Assembly, Thursday. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The floor leader of South Korea's main opposition party joined with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to rap Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his decision to apply retaliatory measures against leading South Korean exporters, a move that ups the ante amidst a period of increased tensions between the two countries.
Japan introduced measures requiring Japanese companies to apply for approval to export?fluorine polyimide, resist and etching gas to Korea ― core components used in manufacturing of advanced tech such as semiconductors. The application procedure delays the delivery of the key materials used by major Korean conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and SK.
On Thursday, Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Rep. Na Kyung-won asked Tokyo to immediately withdraw these measures, saying the decisions are “against free trade.”
At the National Assembly, the LKP leader said, “The Japanese government should stop its trade retaliation immediately. It is extremely inappropriate and against free trade to take such retaliatory measures to deal with political conflicts.”
She added, “It is urgent to engage in multi-dimensional and multi-channel diplomacy to improve Korea-Japan relations. I will pursue urgent parliamentary diplomacy immediately.”
Tokyo announced recently that the sale of certain products will be subject to thorough review by the government before being approved for sale to South Korea, a move that trade experts say will essentially bring trade in these materials to a halt. The move is one in a long line of recent diplomatic issues between the two countries, most notably South Korea's Supreme Court ruling last year in favor of Korean victims of forced labor during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation ― a ruling requiring Japanese companies to pay the victims compensation. Tokyo rejected the ruling, claiming that all forced labor-related issues were settled in 1965 when the two countries signed an agreement normalizing diplomatic and economic relations.
South Korean and Japanese firms have expressed concerns over the decision while the South Korean government is considering filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization over Japan's trade regulations.
Na also claimed the Moon Jae-in administration exacerbated the diplomatic situation by not taking any concrete measures to tackle the issue and urged the President to review his diplomatic dealings with Japan.
Regarding her speech, DPK floor leader Rep. Lee In-young said, “Some parts of her speech are groundless,” adding “Earlier, I asked the LKP to join parliamentary activities but she didn't mention anything about the LKP absence. I am very disappointed.”
Rep. Kim Su-min of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP), said his party also expressed regret about her speech, which didn't include an apology for her party's months-long hiatus from the National Assembly.