[2022 National Audit] Foreign Affairs Committee, Heated Debate on Submissive Diplomacy Toward Japan... "Too Hasty" vs "Process of Untangling the Knot"

Discussion on Solutions for Forced Labor Issues and More

Park Byeong-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the 9th, the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee engaged in a heated debate during the National Assembly audit of the Korean Embassy in Japan regarding the compensation issue for forced labor victims and the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's submissive diplomacy toward Japan.

Park Byeong-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the coexistence debt assumption plan, reportedly prepared as a solution to the forced labor compensation issue through discussions in the public-private consultative council. This plan involves the government making substitute payments (repayment by a third party) using government funds while raising private resources from Korean and Japanese companies to pay compensation to the victims.

Park said, "To resolve the forced labor issue, two things are necessary: victim-centeredness and blocking legal disputes," and stated that the government's proposed plan allows compensation to be executed without the victims' consent. He added, "It is understood that this plan was conveyed to Japan during the Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' meeting," and criticized, "The contribution of funds from Japanese perpetrator companies is our red line, but we have too easily given up direct negotiations with Japanese companies."

Park mentioned that the Forced Mobilization Victims Support Foundation under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is being discussed as the compensation entity and advised, "To gain public consensus, the public-private consultative council should be chaired by the Prime Minister and include senior opposition figures." He continued, "There is a saying that those who are thirsty dig the well, but the Korean government seems too impatient and submissive," and warned, "If you blatantly show that you desperately want negotiations, you will lose negotiating power."

Yoon Deok-min, the Korean Ambassador to Japan, responded, "This is not a finalized plan but one of the alternatives being discussed," and explained, "Because of issues related to the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement, it is difficult to seek a solution that respects the Supreme Court rulings centered on the victims without causing conflict between Korea and Japan." He added, "The victims are quite elderly, and since they have been neglected for years without diplomatic efforts, time is running out," and noted, "Victim groups are not participating in the public-private consultative council but are discussing matters individually."

Democratic Party member Lee Won-wook and independent lawmaker Kim Hong-gul criticized the process and format of the bilateral meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, held last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. After the approximately 30-minute meeting, South Korea described it as an informal meeting, while Japan referred to it as a "kandan (informal talk)," leading to analysis that there might be differences in perspectives between the two countries. Kim said, "The Korea-Japan meeting became humiliating and submissive, and if diplomacy continues like this, there will definitely be strong backlash," adding, "There is also an evaluation that our submissive diplomacy only helped Prime Minister Kishida."

Ambassador Yoon disagreed with the characterization of submissive diplomacy, stating, "There are clear tasks for both us and Japan. It is inappropriate to view the process of unraveling the tangled issues as submissive diplomacy." He added, "Changes are being witnessed through the New York meeting between the two leaders," and said, "There was a change in Prime Minister Kishida's speech expressing his convictions in the National Diet."