15,000 protesters condemn Abe
People protest against Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of Japanese Embassy in Korea, Seoul, Saturday, calling to withdraw economic strike on Korea. / Korea Times photo be Oh Dae-geun
By Kim Jae-heun
Fifteen thousand protesters gathered at the former site of the Japanese embassy in Seoul on Saturday night to condemn Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his economic strike on Korea and call for withdrawal from a three-way military information-sharing pact that also includes the United States.
In particular, the fourth candlelight vigil since July 20 drew teenage students and members of a Japanese civic group alliance to urge the Japanese government to stop such measures.
On the Korean side, some 700 civic groups including the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), YMCA Korea and the Korean Alliance of Progressive Movements took to the streets to pressure Abe despite the sweltering heat.
The weekly rally continues after the Japanese government announced, July 1, it would restrict the export of three key materials that Korean companies need to make semiconductors and flat-panel displays. The move comes apparent retaliation against the Korean Supreme Court's rulings over compensation for surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.
On Aug. 2, it also removed Korea from its list of preferred trading partners.
Kim Ok-ja, a relative of the late former Rep. Kim Woong-jin who proposed a special law punishing antinational actors after the country's liberation in 1945, said there are still pro-Japanese groups active in various sectors and supporting Abe while slandering the Korean President.
Kim added these people must be removed and that she is proud of people boycotting Japanese products.
The Japanese civic group alliance issued a statement urging Abe to withdraw its export curbs on Korea and repent for the country's past wrongdoings.
A Japanese protester there said nearly 3,000 people in Tokyo agreed to join their statement sharing the intention of condemning Abe and that they believe in apologizing to the victims of forced labor during World War II.
He urged the Japanese government to end its hostile policies against Korea and that companies that exploited slave labor should compensate their victims.
Participants also urged the Korean government to abolish the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), calling it "a humiliating pact" that allows the expansion of Japan's military influence on the Korean Peninsula. They added the pact was made by former President Park Geun-hye without public consensus in 2016.
The candlelit vigils were held in other parts of the country, including Gwangju, Busan and Jeju Island, where a combined 3,000 people flocked.
The next anti-Abe candlelit rally will be held at Gwanghwamun Square on Thursday, or National Liberation Day which marks the end of Japan's occupation of Korea and World War II.
Meanwhile, some 400 Koreans and Japanese also held a rally in Tokyo, Saturday, to express their dissent against Abe. They opposed their prime minister's plan to revise its pacifist constitution, which would allow Japan to wage war again.
The protesters also urged the Japanese government to remove Korean names from Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II.
They agreed that the Abe administration is failing to recognize the illegality of colonization, which is the biggest problem in the relationship between Korea and Japan presently.