"Protests Continue Over Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony Issues"
"Memorial Ceremony Issues Should Be Managed as Individual Cases"
The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed to ensure that the conflict surrounding the Sado Mine memorial ceremony does not affect the development of bilateral relations and to continue cooperation between the two countries.
Relatives of Korean victims forcibly mobilized to Sado Mine are listening to explanations about the facilities inside the mine after the memorial service held on the site of the Korean dormitory at Sado Mine, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on the 25th. Photo by Yonhap News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi held a brief meeting on the 26th (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Pausji, Italy, to discuss the Sado Mine issue.
The two ministers agreed to prevent the issues arising from the Sado Mine memorial ceremony from negatively impacting the development of bilateral relations and to maintain the positive momentum of cooperation between the two countries.
Japan had planned to hold the Sado Mine memorial ceremony on the 24th with the attendance of officials from both South Korea and Japan, but the South Korean government decided not to participate a day before the event, resulting in a 'half-hearted' ceremony. The South Korean side did not attend because it was revealed that Ikuina, the Japanese representative and political secretary, had visited Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, 2022, the day of Japan’s defeat in World War II, where Class A war criminals from the Pacific War are enshrined. The memorial ceremony was scheduled following Japan’s July nomination of the Sado Mine as a UNESCO cultural heritage site, with a prior agreement to hold the event.
The South Korean government held a separate memorial ceremony near the ‘Je4sangaeryo’ site, a former dormitory for Korean workers near Sado Island’s Sado Mine, attended by Park Cheol-hee, the South Korean ambassador to Japan, nine bereaved family members, and about 30 others.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that "Korean officials met with representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Korea the day before and expressed regret over Japan’s attitude during the consultation process regarding the memorial ceremony," adding that "they will communicate to ensure this issue does not escalate into unnecessary conflict and is managed as an individual matter."
There was interest in whether Minister Cho separately expressed regret to Foreign Minister Iwaya regarding the Sado Mine issue, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention this. A ministry official said, "South Korea’s non-participation in the memorial ceremony itself was an expression of protest and regret."
Earlier, Kang In-sun, the second vice foreign minister, stated that South Korea’s absence from the memorial ceremony was "a protest by our government against Japan holding a ceremony that falls short of the level agreed upon between South Korea and Japan." This was the first time the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly disclosed that it protested to Japan regarding the ceremony, following criticism that it had not responded to Japan’s brazen attitude.
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