Sangmin Lee: "Kishida's Remarks Are Mere Rhetoric... Doubts on Improving Korea-Japan Relations"

Lee Sang-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, described Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks on forced labor as "mere rhetoric."

On the 8th, Lee said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Our party's view on the Korea-Japan summit is quite critical," expressing this opinion.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the day before, prefaced his comments on forced labor by saying, "My heart aches over this sad matter," expressing a personal opinion. This has been evaluated as expressing regret instead of an official apology.

Lee said, "Isn't it just rhetoric?" and added, "What we demand from the Japanese side is the kind of profound reflection and apology that came out when former President Kim Dae-jung met with the Japanese Prime Minister. We expect at least that level of statement." He continued, "If they had said something close to that, it could have been a good opportunity to heal the accumulated resentment and victim mentality among our people, but it's regrettable."

Lee pointed out, "Looking at the previous Tokyo talks, we thought it would not be easy for Japan to change its attitude that much, and even if they visited Korea this time, it wouldn't deviate significantly. I understand that most citizens did not have high expectations. As Prime Minister Kishida said, his heart aches, and (I) also feel heartache."

He added, "There is no doubt that Korea-Japan relations need to improve, but still, most Korean people carry pain regarding these issues. While it is proper that Korea-Japan relations should improve in the future, I am honestly worried about how much momentum there will be."