"Yoon's Silence Could Be Evidence for 'Dokdo Is Japanese Territory' Claim"
Choi Jae-sung KBS Interview "Must Leave Grounds for Rebuttal"
As Japanese media reported that the Dokdo issue was discussed at the Korea-Japan summit, senior South Korean diplomatic and security officials have come forward to refute the claim, while former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Choi Jae-sung raised his voice, saying, "We must demand a correction from the Japanese media."
On the 20th, Choi appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' and said, "If there was no rebuttal or if there was silence regarding what Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, then there is no way to excuse or avoid it," emphasizing this point.
He added, "Japan calls Dokdo 'Takeshima' and claims it as their territory," and said, "So when this was made public by the Japanese media, if there is no rebuttal, it remains as evidence."
He continued, "If the Japanese government asserts in the international community that Dokdo is Japanese territory, and they say, 'The South Korean president said Dokdo is Takeshima, Japanese territory, as Prime Minister Kishida said, but there was silence,' then it would be difficult to refute this issue at least during President Yoon Suk-yeol's term. This is a huge incident," and pointed out, "We must quickly request a correction or fact-check from the Japanese media. We need to leave evidence that a rebuttal was made."
Choi also said, "In the past, when President Lee Myung-bak met with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Fukuda said that Japan could not avoid including Dokdo as Japanese territory in their textbook guidelines. President Lee responded, 'Not now, please wait,' which caused a big controversy," and added, "Initially, the Lee Myung-bak administration denied it, but later a document from the U.S. Embassy in Japan was revealed stating that they asked to 'hold back,' in other words, to delay."
He went on, "At that time, the Blue House under Lee Myung-bak explained that 'hold back' had another meaning, which is rarely used, meaning 'please refrain,' and made this excuse," and said, "It would have been better to have room for dispute."
Regarding Foreign Minister Park Jin's remarks such as "The Dokdo issue was not on the agenda" and "The details of the summit cannot be disclosed," Choi said, "This is not acceptable," and added, "Even if it was not on the agenda, the Blue House should say that President Yoon Suk-yeol clearly rebutted Prime Minister Kishida's statement, or if the Japanese media reported incorrectly, measures should be taken to leave evidence."
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