South Korea snubs Japan memorial event at controversial mine in blow to ties
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An alternative memorial event on Nov 25 at the Sado mine, which was organised by Seoul, was attended by the descendants of the original labourers, as well as some government officials.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
SEOUL – South Korea held a memorial event in Japan on Nov 25 for its labourers forced to work at a controversial mine during World War II, after boycotting one organised by Tokyo, highlighting lingering sensitivities between the neighbours.
Both key US regional allies, Seoul and Tokyo have seen ties generally improve in recent years, as they sought to put aside acrimonious diplomatic and trade disputes tied to Japan’s 1910-1945 colonisation of the Korean peninsula.
Seoul’s decision not to attend the Nov 24 official event at the Sado mine followed reports that the Japanese government would be represented by an official who had visited a shrine some neighbours see as a symbol of the nation’s militarist past.
Japanese news agency Kyodo late on Nov 25 issued an apology for what it said turned out to be an erroneous report that the official, Ms Akiko Ikuina, now the parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs, had visited the shrine in 2022 as a lawmaker.
“There is a possibility that (the report) had an impact on diplomacy,” Kyodo said, noting that the South Korean foreign ministry had commented on Ms Ikuina’s reported visit to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The governments could not resolve their differences in time, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said in a television interview on Nov 23, but he added that the incident should not damage improved ties under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Mr Yoon has pushed to put behind years of animosity and boost three-way security efforts with Tokyo and Washington.
South Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Park Cheol-hee led the Nov 25 memorial event, with the participation of nine descendants of the original labourers as well as some government officials.
In his remarks, the ambassador expressed deep sorrow at the plight of the South Korean forced labourers, exhorting the neighbours to ensure the painful history of the Sado mine was not forgotten.
Japan’s top government spokesman, Mr Yoshimasa Hayashi, said it was not Tokyo’s place to explain the reasons for South Korea’s absence from the memorial ceremony held by the Japanese government.
“But we do think it is regrettable that they did not participate,” he told a daily briefing in the Japanese capital.
Mr Hayashi added that Tokyo had explained to Seoul that Ms Ikuina, the official who represented Japan at the ceremony, had not visited the Yasukuni Shrine that commemorates its war dead, including some war criminals, since becoming a lawmaker.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry did not have a comment, but on Nov 24, Mr Cho had cited the planned attendance by Ms Ikuina, a Japanese parliamentary vice-minister for foreign affairs, as one reason for staying away.
Seoul said in 2024 that it had negotiated a pact with Japan to hold events and exhibits explicitly mentioning the use of South Korean forced labourers as a condition for backing Tokyo’s bid to win listing of the Sado Island Gold Mines as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Mr Yoon’s government drew criticism for agreeing to Tokyo’s pledge to properly recognise the darker aspects of the mine, celebrated for its long history and contribution to Japan’s industrial development. REUTERS
