By Choi Ha-young
President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that the 2015 Seoul-Tokyo agreement on Japan’s wartime sexual slavery was “gravely flawed,” indicating that his administration may push for a renegotiation of the controversial deal.
Moon said the deal, reached under the previous Park Geun-hye administration, cannot resolve the longstanding issue, and most of all, the surviving victims do not agree with it.
The statement signals that the government may even discard the deal to better address the feelings of the “comfort women.” This also means Seoul’s relations with Tokyo, which have soured largely due to their differences over historical issues, may go from bad to worse.
On Wednesday, a fact-finding team under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the Park government concealed sensitive parts of the verbal agreement and failed to respect the opinions of the victims.
“The announcement from the team confirmed the deal signed in 2015 was gravely flawed, in regard to its content and outcome,” Moon said in a statement read by presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun. “Above all, this was a political agreement that excluded victims and citizens.”
“As a President, together with Korean citizens, I reaffirm the problem can’t be resolved through the agreement.”
The presidential office accentuated “truth” in cultivating future-oriented cooperation between South Korea and Japan. The bilateral relationship has often been marred by Tokyo’s provocative words about the war crimes committed during its imperial era.
“We need courage to face the painful history. The more distressful the fact is, more squarely we need to face it,” Park said. “I hope the two countries become sincere friends, overcoming the unfortunate past.”
The President also called for a follow-up measure. In envisioning a new deal, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the government will listen thoroughly to the surviving victims’ opinions.
“From now on, the ministry will interview the victims,” Kang was quoted as saying, Thursday. Asked whether she will reach out to all of them, she said, “I will do so if that’s possible.”
A day before Kang said, “Based on the team’s report, we will humbly collect the stances of victims, relevant organizations and experts. In addition, the ministry will carefully set up its official stance, considering its impact on the bilateral relationship.”
The team said it focused on finding the facts behind the deal. It will be the ministry that decides whether to draw up a new deal or how to deal with the repercussions from discarding it, according to team leader Oh Tai-kyu. The agreement was not a treaty that went through legislative confirmation.
“Any kinds of promises between countries include duty. The government will not take it lightly since the deal was announced in public at a press conference,” Oh said in a radio interview, Thursday.
Regarding dropping the deal, he said, “Considering various factors including public sentiment and the diplomatic cost, the government needs to come up with positive measures. Anyway, it will incur repercussions.”
According to an opinion poll jointly conducted in June by the Hankook Ilbo and Yomiuri Shimbun, 85.4 percent of Korean respondents were in favor of a renegotiation, while 57 percent of Japanese respondents were against it.
After the team’s announcement, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the third-largest People’s Party called for a new deal that would be acceptable to the surviving victims and the public.
Opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Kim Sung-tae declined to comment. Instead of defending former President Park Geun-hye’s legacy, the LKP emphasized the importance of military cooperation with the United States and Japan.