Jo Guk, leader of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, visited Dokdo and labeled the Yoon Seok-yeol administration as a "pro-Japanese regime," urging the Japanese government, which claims ownership of Dokdo, to apologize.
On the afternoon of the 13th, Jo entered Dokdo and issued a statement saying, "Article 3 of our Constitution states, 'The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands,' and Dokdo is one of the adjacent islands." He added, "Is Japan denying Korea's liberation and asserting colonial territorial rights?" Furthermore, he warned, "Japan, stop this now and sincerely apologize," emphasizing, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must clearly demonstrate his will to protect national interests and territory."
Regarding the Yoon administration's diplomacy toward Japan, he criticized it as "submissive." Jo said, "Past administrations under Park Chung-hee, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye were also criticized as pro-Japanese regimes, but none were as blatant as this," adding, "There has never been such a level of submission." He continued, "In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Japanese companies must directly compensate victims of forced labor during Japanese colonial rule, but under the Yoon administration, this was bizarrely changed to 'third-party compensation.' The wrongdoing was committed by Japan, so why should Korean companies raise money?"
Jo stated, "(This submissive diplomacy) is too numerous to count," mentioning the restoration of the Korea-Japan Military Information Protection Agreement (GSOMIA), the removal of the bust of Independence General Hong Beom-do from the Korea Military Academy, the inclusion of Dokdo as a "territorial dispute area" in the Ministry of National Defense's psychological warfare education materials, the deletion of "will to protect Dokdo" from national security strategy documents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' overseas mission maps marking Dokdo, and the use of maps labeling Dokdo as Japanese territory in civil defense training videos.
He also pointed out the recent controversy known as the "Line Yahoo incident." Jo said, "(Japan) is trying to seize management rights of Line Yahoo from Naver," adding, "The great-grandfather of the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, who is leading this incident, is It? Hirobumi. The events of 1910 are repeating again in 2024."
Jo emphasized, "As a citizen, I am ashamed and cannot hold my head up," calling it "the worst pro-Japanese regime and a treasonous government in history." He continued, "(President Yoon) should make a decision himself if he lacks the will and ability to protect our people's dignity, our territory, and sovereignty," warning, "If the current policy continues, the Yoon administration will be recorded in history as a treasonous regime."
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