Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "Sado Mine Memorial Ceremony Unlikely to Be Held in July?August This Year"

The memorial ceremony for Korean workers who were subjected to forced labor at the Sado Mine in Niigata Prefecture, Japan?a site of forced labor for Koreans during the Japanese colonial period?is now expected to be held after the originally planned July?August timeframe.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 30th, "During the negotiations for the Sado Mine's inscription last year, the Japanese side had proposed to us that the memorial ceremony would be held in July or August."

On November 25, 2024, Park Cheolhee, the South Korean Ambassador to Japan, delivered a memorial address at the memorial ceremony for Korean victims of forced labor at the Sado Mine Korean dormitory site in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Photo by Yonhap News

The official added, "Last year, the ceremony was inevitably delayed due to the timing of the inscription at the end of July, and this year, it appears that holding the event in July or August has also become difficult due to ongoing negotiations."

The memorial ceremony was a 'follow-up measure' promised by Japan through an agreement with South Korea when the Sado Mine was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in July last year.

Last year, the South Korean and Japanese diplomatic authorities ultimately failed to coordinate differences over various matters, including the content of the memorial address. As a result, the South Korean government notified Japan that it would not participate in the official Japanese event and instead held a separate memorial ceremony at the site.

The event was originally scheduled to be attended by bereaved families from South Korea and officials from the South Korean government. However, due to differences between the two countries over the event's name, schedule, and the Japanese government participants, the ceremony was ultimately held without South Korean participation, resulting in a 'half-complete event.'

Last year's event, which was the first to be held after the inscription, took place in November, with the delay attributed to the need for preparation time. However, as this year's ceremony also appears unlikely to be held during the previously announced period, criticism is expected to resurface over whether the agreement was insufficient.