Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds to Gwangbokhoe: "The Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty Is Void Ab Initio"

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 23rd that it sent a response letter stating "fundamental invalidity" in reply to the request from the Gwangbokhoe to clarify its position on whether Japan's infringement of national sovereignty was illegal and invalid.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the same day, "Our government's position on Article 2 of the Treaty on Basic Relations between the Republic of Korea and Japan can be confirmed in the 'Commentary on the Treaties and Agreements between the Republic of Korea and Japan' published by the Korean government on July 5, 1965."

Lee Jong-chan, President of the Liberation Association, attended the opening ceremony of the Academic Forum on Social Contribution of the Claims against Japan held at the Liberation Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 21st, explaining his position on the recent conflicts surrounding Korea's independence and founding.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Article 2 of the treaty states that "all treaties and agreements concluded between the Korean Empire and the Empire of Japan on or before August 22, 1910 (the date of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty) are already null and void."

The commentary at the time explained, "All treaties, agreements, protocols, etc., regardless of their names, concluded between the so-called Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty and the Korean Empire and the Japanese Empire before that, are all invalid as agreements between states," according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Regarding the timing of the invalidity, it also stated, "'From the beginning' means that it never had effect, and since it is emphasized as 'already,' there is no need to say that it is retroactively invalid."

Earlier, the Gwangbokhoe sent a letter to Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol the day before, urging him to clarify the government's position on whether Japan's imperialist infringement of national sovereignty was illegal and invalid.

The Gwangbokhoe specifically asked how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs interprets Article 2 of the Basic Treaty between Korea and Japan, and furthermore, whether it considers Japan's infringement of national sovereignty illegal and invalid.

Korea interprets the wording of Article 2 of the treaty as meaning "colonial rule under the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty was invalid from the outset," but Japan interprets it as "the treaties and agreements became invalid only because Korea was already independent, and were valid before the point of independence."