 |
| President Moon Jae-in meets with leaders of the five major parties at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. From left are: Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, Sohn Hak-kyu of the Bareunmirae Party, Hwang Kyo-ahn of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Moon, Lee Hae-chan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
President Moon Jae-in and leaders of the country's political parties called on Japan, Thursday, to immediately cancel its export restrictions targeting Korean firms ahead of possible additional trade-related "sanctions" threatened by Tokyo in the coming weeks.
They also agreed to establish a pan-national agency consisting of officials from government and the parties to strengthen cooperation in responding to the looming trade war with Japan.
In a joint statement, Moon and party leaders sternly condemned Tokyo's export curbs as "economic retaliation" against historical disputes, and expressed grave concern about the repercussions on not just bilateral relations but also on security in Northeast Asia. They also reiterated that the restrictions constitute a serious violation of free trade.
The meeting was the first time Moon had sat down with all party leaders since March 2018.
"Right now, it is most urgent to combine our wisdom on how to respond to Japan's export restrictions and how to reduce our excessive reliance on Japan for key materials and components,'" Moon said. The President also requested the parties' cooperation in swiftly processing an extra budget bill to support companies that are expected to be affected by the restrictions.
The party leaders who attended the meeting at Cheong Wa Dae were Lee Hae-chan of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK); main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn; Sohn Hak-kyu of the Bareunmirae Party (BMP); Sim Sang-jung of the progressive Justice Party; and Chung Dong-young of the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP).
In addition, the President and the party leaders agreed to place priority on resolving the issue through diplomacy. They also called on Moon to send a special envoy to Japan and to continue efforts for summit diplomacy. "The leaders of the two countries should pursue a summit in the near future," the LKP's Hwang said.
Others underlined the need for a presidential envoy to be sent to Japan, but the Cheong Wa Dae was cautious about the timing of dispatching an envoy at this time. Hwang also called on the President to reprimand his diplomatic team for their lack of preparedness for the trade war, which could have been predicted months ago.
During the meeting, a senior presidential official said that Japan is expected to remove Korea from its "white list" of countries with preferential customs clearance procedures on July 31 or Aug. 1. The official also said the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a bilateral pact on sharing military information, could be affected depending on the circumstances, in response to Sim's call for its cancellation.
The statement, which came after three hours of talks between the President and the leaders, was made the same day Japan had designated as a deadline for Korea to respond to its request for outside arbitration regarding a Supreme Court ruling that ordered Japanese firms to compensate Koreans forced to work for them during the 1910-1945 Japanese occupation of Korea. President Moon rejected that request earlier this week.
The meeting was realized swiftly after Hwang gave up his demand for a one-on-one meeting with the President.
![[INTERVIEW] Preserving Tanzania's wonders through sustainable tourism](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/9606b2df96df45e0b85a8f8df5a15235.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
