President Dokdo Controversy Lookalike Lee Myung-bak 'Hold Back'
Various Interpretations of Hold Back... Please Wait vs Please Restrain
As political controversy spreads over whether the Dokdo issue was mentioned during the meeting between the South Korean and Japanese leaders, former President Lee Myung-bak's past 'hold back' remark is being reexamined.
Former President Lee Myung-bak warmly shakes hands with former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda before holding their first summit meeting at the Blue House in February 2008. Photo by Yonhap News
Former President Lee responded with 'hold back' when then Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda stated that Japan would mark Dokdo as its territory in its textbooks. The phrase 'hold back' was interpreted ambiguously as either 'please wait' or 'please refrain,' sparking debate.
Recently, President Yoon opened the door to restoring bilateral relations through the South Korea-Japan summit. Shuttle diplomacy was revived during this visit to Japan, and President Yoon achieved outcomes such as being invited by Prime Minister Kishida to the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, Japan, in May.
However, controversy continues over the authenticity of remarks after claims surfaced through the Japanese government and media that Prime Minister Kishida mentioned the Dokdo issue. On the 16th, NHK reported, "Prime Minister Kishida demanded that South Korea faithfully implement the past bilateral agreement on the comfort women issue during the summit and also conveyed Japan's position regarding the Dokdo-related issue."
Seiji Kihara, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, also told Japanese reporters immediately after the summit, "The Dokdo issue was included, and we demanded faithful implementation of the comfort women agreement," confirming that the Dokdo sovereignty and comfort women agreement implementation issues were mentioned at the South Korea-Japan summit.
Following the growing controversy over the Dokdo mention, Foreign Minister Park Jin appeared on KBS on the 18th and stated, "The Dokdo or comfort women issues were not discussed as agenda items." However, when asked if Prime Minister Kishida brought up the topic, he replied, "It is not appropriate to disclose specific details of the summit."
Despite the clarification, controversy persisted, and on the 20th, the Blue House denied that any mention of Dokdo occurred during the summit. It also expressed regret to the Japanese government over related reports and urged prevention of recurrence.
A similar controversy regarding the 'Dokdo mention' occurred during the Lee Myung-bak administration. At the July 2008 Group of Eight (G8) summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, when then Prime Minister Fukuda said Japan would mark Dokdo as its territory in textbooks, President Lee reportedly said, "It is difficult now. Please wait a little," according to Japanese media Yomiuri, sparking controversy.
At the time, the Blue House denied the report as "groundless." However, the controversy flared again after documents from the U.S. Embassy in Japan revealed that former President Lee had indeed said 'hold back.'
In February 2012, WikiLeaks cited a U.S. diplomatic cable reporting that on July 16, 2008, Kang Young-hoon, First Secretary at the South Korean Embassy in Japan, met with the political officer of the U.S. Embassy in Japan and said that "especially after President Lee directly appealed to PM Fukuda to 'hold back' regarding Japan's announcement of its middle school curriculum guidelines, Korean government officials felt betrayed by Japan's actions," according to the report.
The interpretation of 'hold back' became a subject of debate. Besides meaning 'please wait,' it could also mean 'please refrain,' leading to differing interpretations. However, the Blue House at the time completely denied such reports and claimed, "The Kang First Secretary cited in the article never went to the U.S. Embassy."
Meanwhile, regarding the 'Dokdo mention' issue leaked through Japanese media, analysis suggests that Japan is once again emphasizing the claim that 'Dokdo is Japanese territory' and sending a message to its citizens that it is making efforts to 'restore its territory.'
Choi Jong-geon, a Yonsei University professor who served as Deputy Foreign Minister during the Moon Jae-in administration, explained on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 20th, "The fundamental intention of Japan, and the reason they leaked this through their domestic Kyodo News, was clearly for internal audiences. Prime Minister Kishida said, 'I said what I had to say. While South Korea-Japan relations are improving, from our standpoint, we are always making efforts to restore Takeshima territory,' sending that message," he explained.
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