Korea-Japan Ambassadors to Japan and Korea Officially Appointed Side by Side... "Japan Expert" Ambassador Kang Chang-il Pledges Efforts to Normalize Korea-Japan Relations

Following Forced Labor Compensation Ruling, Comfort Women Victims Win Lawsuit Against Japanese Government... Further Straining Korea-Japan Relations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The governments of South Korea and Japan have simultaneously appointed new ambassadors to Japan and South Korea. Following the ruling on compensation for forced labor during the Japanese occupation and the victory of comfort women victims in the compensation lawsuit, Korea-Japan relations have further deteriorated, drawing attention to the roles of the two new ambassadors.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the appointment of Kang Chang-il, Honorary Chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League, as the Ambassador to Japan. Kang, a four-term National Assembly member, was nominated in November last year and received agrement (host country’s consent for dispatching diplomatic envoys) at the end of last year.

Ambassador Kang earned his master's and doctoral degrees in Oriental History from the University of Tokyo and is regarded as a leading Japan expert who led inter-parliamentary diplomacy between the two countries as chairman of the Korea-Japan Parliamentary League during Japan’s unilateral export restrictions in 2019.

Ambassador Kang stated, "I bear the heavy responsibility of normalizing Korea-Japan relations," and added, "I will devote all my efforts to restoring normal relations between the two countries."

Meanwhile, the Japanese government, at a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, appointed Koichi Aiboshi, Ambassador of Japan to Israel, as the new Ambassador to South Korea. Koji Domita, the previous Ambassador to South Korea, moved to the position of Ambassador to the United States on the 25th of last month.

Ambassador Aiboshi, a native of Kagoshima Prefecture, previously served as First Secretary and Counselor at the Japanese Embassy in South Korea and also worked as Minister. This will be his third posting in South Korea, and he is known as a Korean Wave fan fluent in Korean.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.