Opposition Asks "Is Dokdo Really Our Land?"... Korean Prime Minister Responds "Absolutely Not"?

Criticized for Response Attitude
Previous Day's "Moved a Rock" Remark Also Controversial

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo experienced an embarrassing moment on the 5th during a government questioning session (education, social, and cultural fields) held at the National Assembly when he responded "Absolutely not" to an opposition lawmaker's question, "Is Dokdo really our land?" Due to his indifferent attitude in answering, Prime Minister Han faced criticism from both ruling and opposition lawmakers throughout the session.

On that day, when Democratic Party lawmaker Maeng Sung-kyu asked, "Is Dokdo really our land?" Han replied, "Absolutely not." When Maeng asked again, "Excuse me? Is Dokdo our land?" Han finally responded, "I apologize, it is absolutely not Japanese territory."

Maeng asked this question while criticizing President Yoon Suk-yeol's remark on the 21st of last month at a Cabinet meeting, where he said, "There are forces in our society that shout exclusive democracy and anti-Japan sentiments to gain political advantage." Quoting Prime Minister Han's previous statement that the government had "removed a boulder" regarding the forced labor issue during Japanese colonial rule, Maeng pointed out that "from the people's perspective, Dokdo, the Fukushima contaminated water issue, and textbook distortions are large boulders blocking the future of Korea-Japan relations." Prime Minister Han rebutted each point.

Prime Minister Han stated, "Dokdo is naturally our land both historically and under international law, so there is no need to mention it." He added, "Regarding the Fukushima contaminated water discharge issue, I believe it must be handled with the utmost priority on the safety and health of our people. The textbook issue is not directly related to the government's diplomacy with Japan, but we have strongly protested through diplomatic channels and will continue to strongly negotiate to ensure corrections are made."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is responding to a lawmaker's question during the 3rd plenary session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) on education, social, and cultural affairs held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th.

On that day, Prime Minister Han faced criticism from both ruling and opposition lawmakers due to his indifferent attitude. People Power Party lawmaker Cho Eun-hee expressed frustration during questioning about the transfer of major criminal investigation authority to the police, saying, "Listening to the Prime Minister's answers is frustrating," and Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Min-jung urged him to respond during the Q&A session.

Lawmaker Kang fired questions regarding the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's personnel verification system: "For example, former Minister of Education nominee Park Soon-ae resigned 35 days after taking office, right? And for Jeong Soon-shin, the nominee for the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, the nomination was withdrawn after 28 hours, right?" Prime Minister Han remained silent. After a few seconds of silence, when Kang pressed, "Why are you not answering?" Han replied, "I thought what you are saying is obvious."

Earlier, during the government questioning session on the economy held the previous day, Prime Minister Han stirred controversy by saying he had "removed a boulder" while explaining the outcomes of the Korea-Japan summit. In response to opposition criticism that the summit was humiliating, Han said, "This time, we removed the biggest boulder, and now we will make efforts to discuss and resolve issues one by one based on the efforts to remove such boulders." Although Han later clarified that the term "boulder" did not refer to the people or the forced labor victims, Democratic Party lawmakers protested loudly.