"Stating Historical Facts"... Reaffirming Existing Position
Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, reaffirmed his previous stance on the 4th, stating that his remark "Our ancestors' nationality was Japanese" was "speaking historical facts," amid ongoing controversy.
On the 4th, Minister Kim appeared on KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' and said, "If you look into your own family register or removal register, the grandfather's family register during the Japanese colonial period would all be in Japanese," referring to questions from opposition lawmakers asking about the nationality of our ancestors during the Japanese occupation. He added, "At that time, Japan regulated that mainland Japanese, Joseon people, and Taiwanese all had Japanese nationality."
Minister Kim also said, "Just as athlete Sohn Kee-chung ran wearing the Japanese flag, legally it was so," and "Since the country disappeared as a colony, Sohn Kee-chung ran with the Japanese flag at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Do you think he wanted to wear the Japanese flag?" He continued, "Even if I said I was not Japanese nationality but Republic of Korea, I could not participate in the Olympics or do anything as a Korean national." He then questioned, "We cannot deny the sad colonial history of our ancestors and the sorrow of their sons and daughters, but during the Japanese colonial period, our ancestors had Japanese nationality and competed in the Olympics, and wasn't the Dong-A Ilbo shut down because it removed the Japanese flag?"
Regarding Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's statement that "Our nationality during the Japanese colonial period was naturally Korean nationality," Minister Kim said, "Diplomatically, it was based on the 1965 Korea-Japan talks where it was agreed that 'Japan's annexation of the Republic of Korea as a colony is invalid,'” adding, "That does not mean the 1910 Japan-Korea Annexation did not happen."
Earlier, at a confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly last month, Minister Kim faced criticism for past remarks such as "The Republic of Korea was founded in 1948" and "It is common sense that nationality was Japanese under Japanese rule," to which he responded, "During the Japanese colonial period, there was no country, so everyone had Japanese nationality. Where else would it be? The Republic of Korea did not exist, so how could it be otherwise?" sparking controversy.
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