野 "Kishida, Retreats After Forced Mobilization Remarks" VS Ruling Party "Washington Declaration: Unprecedented Extended Deterrence"

Full Session of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee on the 9th
Yoon Seok-yeol President's Summit Achievements Spark Ruling and Opposition Disputes
Foreign Ministry: "Fukushima Inspection Team Conducted Actual Verification Activities"

On the 9th, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the outcomes of President Yoon Suk-yeol's summit meetings. The Democratic Party of Korea launched a fierce attack, claiming that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks on historical issues represented a "regression compared to the past," while the People Power Party countered by highlighting achievements such as the strengthening of extended deterrence and criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for insufficient promotion.

On the same day, during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, the ruling and opposition parties focused their questioning on First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Jang Ho-jin regarding the outcomes of the South Korea-US summit held in Washington DC on the 26th of last month and the South Korea-Japan summit held in Seoul on the 7th of this month.

Opposition: "Regression Compared to Abe's Statement" vs Ruling: "Lack of Promotion... There Are Achievements"

The Democratic Party pointed out that Prime Minister Kishida's remark about forced labor victims, saying he "feels deeply sorry for those who worked in harsh conditions," was actually a step backward compared to the past. When Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Ho-jung asked Vice Minister Jang, "You mentioned that there was a progressive expression of apology for historical issues; do you think there was progress?" Jang responded regarding Kishida's remarks, "From the people's perspective, it might still be somewhat insufficient, but compared to the previous state where Korea-Japan relations had not progressed at all, I believe there was some degree of progress."

On the 9th, at the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary meeting held in the National Assembly, Chairman Kim Tae-ho is striking the gavel. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In response, Lawmaker Yoon argued, "Even compared to Abe's 2015 statement, this is a regression." He explained, "In 1990, Emperor Akihito used the expression 'ts?seki no nen,' which means 'truly sorrowful to the point of tears.' In 2015, Prime Minister Abe issued a statement using 'ts?seki no nen' along with the word 'kai?,' which means remorse for wrongdoing." He emphasized, "I want to ask if hearing a third-party perspective simply saying 'I feel sorry' can really be called progress."

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Jung-sik continued his offensive regarding the dispatch of a Korean inspection team to verify Fukushima contaminated water. He asked, "One of the announced achievements of the summit is the dispatch of an inspection team to the Fukushima nuclear plant. But why is it called an inspection team and not a verification team? Shouldn't the government officially announce it as a verification team rather than an inspection team?" Vice Minister Jang replied, "It seems to be a matter of terminology," adding, "In reality, the activities will be closer to verification."

The opposition also argued that the 'Washington Declaration' announced after the South Korea-US summit cannot be considered an achievement. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Jae-jung said, "Strategic nuclear submarines are fundamentally based on secrecy and are core assets. What benefit do we gain if the deployment of such weapon systems to the Korean Peninsula is exposed? Ordinary citizens also understand well how this is being promoted as an achievement for show."

On the other hand, the ruling party praised the president's diplomatic achievements. People Power Party lawmaker Chung Jin-seok said, "The Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines SSBN, which the US agreed to deploy on a permanent basis in the Washington Declaration, are very powerful. The Washington Declaration means that powerful nuclear forces will be deployed in the Korean Peninsula or Pacific Ocean region. I consider this an unprecedented extended deterrence policy suited to our country's situation."

At the same time, he criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for insufficient promotion commensurate with the achievements. Lawmaker Chung urged the Ministry, "The Fukushima contaminated water inspection team should be used as an opportunity to dispel public anxiety, but the government needs to actively inform the public about this issue. Please carefully manage the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verification process and the preparation of the inspection team, and provide more detailed explanations and promotion to the public."

People Power Party lawmaker Lee Myung-soo asked Vice Minister Jang what the diplomatic achievements of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration were, then said, "When promoting these to our citizens, please think of a name that can be used for promotional purposes, like 'This is what it is.' I feel that we are receiving more criticism than what we actually did, which suggests that our promotion efforts are lacking."

Opposition: "Tae Young-ho, Who Went to the Ethics Committee, Should Resign from Foreign Affairs Committee"

The Democratic Party called for the resignation of People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho from the Foreign Affairs Committee while his disciplinary review by the party's Ethics Committee is underway. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook said at the meeting, "Until the issue concerning lawmaker Tae, who is involved in national interests on the Foreign Affairs Committee, is resolved, it seems a very basic procedure for the committee's normal operation that he resign from the Foreign Affairs Committee. I at least think it is appropriate for him to resign from the committee and have conveyed this to the chairman."

In response, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seok-ki said, "The assignment of standing committees is done by our party. We are internally discussing whether lawmaker Tae's remarks are appropriate. If we were to raise questions about why such a person is assigned to our standing committee based on various incidents involving Democratic Party lawmakers, that would not be appropriate. We are discussing lawmaker Tae's issue internally, and I think the demand to exclude him from the committee is an excessive statement."