Im Mi-ae: "Japan's Forced Mobilization, Yoon Government Must Protest... Must Play a Role Without Shame in History"

Im Mi-ae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, demanded on the 28th that the government protest against the Japanese government's "historical erasure" denying forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

During a 5-minute speech at the plenary session that day, Rep. Im criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's series of responses during the process of registering Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage site and urged the government to take action to remember the Korean forced laborers who were subjected to forced labor. Earlier, Rep. Im had visited the Sado Mine site in Japan from the 15th to the 17th with opposition party lawmakers.

Rep. Im introduced, "In 2015, Kunio Sato, Japan's ambassador to UNESCO, promised at the World Heritage Committee meeting to install an information center to help understand that many Koreans were forcibly brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions, and that the Japanese government implemented a conscription policy during World War II, as well as to take appropriate measures to remember the victims." She then reported, "However, the Japanese Industrial Heritage Information Center I visited in person made no mention of forced mobilization or forced labor; instead, it sarcastically questioned whether there could have been discrimination against Koreans who held Japanese nationality due to the annexation at the time, mocking the recommendations of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee and the Republic of Korea." She added, "If the Yoon Seok-yeol government was unaware of this, it is a lazy government; if it knowingly ignored it, it has deceived the people with lies."

Members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, part of the Sado Mine Truth Protection Japan Visit Delegation, held a press conference before departure on the 15th. From the left, Kim Jun-hyung and Lee Hae-min of the Party for National Innovation, Lee, Im Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Jeon Hye-kyung of the Progressive Party.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

She introduced the lives of forced mobilization victims who suffered from violence, hunger, and fear, saying, "The government must strongly protest Japan's ongoing historical erasure." She continued, "The government must officially demand measures to record and remember the workers who were sacrificed in forced mobilization and forced labor, as well as the public disclosure of the list of forced mobilization victims."

Regarding the Korean government's support for the registration of Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan, which is interpreted as an "effort to improve relations" and "an intention not to leave new seeds of conflict," Rep. Im lamented, "I am concerned that our government may be treating our history as merely a source of conflict."

At the end of her speech, Rep. Im introduced the memorial inscription at the Josei Coal Mine, which acknowledges and reflects on forced mobilization, saying, "We must demand that the Japanese government ensure that the words engraved on the memorial stone for the Josei Coal Mine victims are recorded and remembered at historical sites where forced labor was carried out, such as Gunhamdo, Yahata, Nagasaki, Miike, and Sado." She declared, "I strongly urge the Republic of Korea government to fulfill its role so that our actions at this moment will not be a source of shame at any point in history."