Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Sun, October 1, 2023 | 17:59

Politics

Yoon faces strong political backlash after Tokyo summit

Posted : 2023-03-19 16:36

Updated : 2023-03-20 15:05

Thousands of people hold a protest near City Hall in central Seoul, Saturday, denouncing President Yoon Suk Yeol's March 16 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Yonhap

Opposition leader accuses president of being 'Japan's servant'

By Jung Min-ho

What was mostly welcomed by Japan and many allied nations as a meaningful step toward a future-oriented relationship between Seoul and Tokyo has left President Yoon Suk Yeol in a political bind at home.

After his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo last week, Yoon faces a strong backlash from victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, civic groups and opposition politicians who call his bid to recover the frayed bilateral ties a "humiliating" concession.

Thousands of protesters packed the streets in front of City Hall in central Seoul, Saturday, to criticize the government's attempt at resolving the issue through a fund raised by a Korean public foundation instead of seeking payment from Japan.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was among the demonstrators. He accused the administration of choosing to be "a servant of Japan" while ignoring the tears of the victims.

"Despite the stated opposition of the victims, the Yoon administration is pushing ahead with its third-party solution. No matter how illegal, how unconstitutional, how nonsensical, it will push for the deal, if it can appease Japan. Isn't this a humiliating attitude?" Lee asked.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, takes part in a protest near City Hall in central Seoul, Saturday, denouncing President Yoon Suk Yeol's March 16 summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The demonstrators slammed the summit as "humiliating diplomacy." Yonhap

At the bilateral summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed to increase cooperation in security, economy and culture among other areas. This includes lifting Japan's export restrictions on Korea and normalizing the two countries' intelligence-sharing pact, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), as soon as possible.

The agreements came after years of historical disputes, which were renewed in 2018 when the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Korean victims of forced labor or their bereaved relatives.

The opposition leader claimed that the recovery of the security pact may lead Japan to push to reform its post-World War II pacifist constitution, which he said could threaten the security of the Korean Peninsula.

Rep. Lim O-kyeong, a spokeswoman for the DPK, also claimed Yoon had discussed wartime sex slavery and Dokdo ― two other major obstacles to the two countries' relations ― with his Japanese counterpart and hid it from the public. Citing the Japanese media, she released a statement on Sunday accusing the president of lying, although Foreign Minister Park Jin, in an interview with Korean broadcaster KBS, denied the Japanese media reports and said the two issues were "not among the topics on the agenda."

Asked about what many view as a "disappointing" reaction from Japan, Minister Park said he expects to see a more favorable response from Japan in the coming months as recovering the relations would advance their common interests.

Contrary to the opposition's stance, the presidential office hailed the summit as a success that created a turning point in the two countries' relations, saying its solution was backed by the United Nations, European Union, the United States and several other countries as well as 20 major institutions including the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, said mending bilateral ties is critical given the geopolitical situation in the Indo-Pacific region where nuclear and missile threats from Pyongyang are growing and Beijing is aggressively expanding its clout.

Yet, with nearly 60 percent of the public disapproving of the Yoon administration's solution to the forced labor issue in recent polls and the DPK determined to continue putting it forward, Yoon's approval ratings are expected to drop to concerning levels without further responses from Tokyo, such as Japanese companies' contribution to the victim fund.

Citing several Japanese government officials, Yomiuri Shimbun, a local newspaper, reported that Tokyo is taking steps to invite Yoon to the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May as the host country.

mj6c2@koreatimes.co.kr