Lee Nak-yeon: "President Moon's Visit to Japan Is Not Appropriate Now... Japan-South Korea Summit Is Meaningless"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Lee Nak-yeon, former leader of the Democratic Party presidential candidate, said on the 19th regarding President Moon Jae-in's planned visit to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, "With Japan's current attitude, it is difficult to expect a successful Korea-Japan summit," adding, "The president's visit to Japan is not appropriate at this time." This has drawn attention as Lee, who served as the longest-serving prime minister under the Moon administration, is advocating a 'no visit to Japan' stance while the Blue House is about to decide on the visit.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Lee posted on Facebook, "I understand well the government's earnest efforts for the future-oriented development of Korea-Japan relations," and "Because of that, I heard that the president's visit to Japan had been discussed between Korea and Japan."

However, he emphasized, "I judge that it is now time to give up on the president's visit to Japan in connection with the Tokyo Olympics."

Lee recalled, "I vividly remember the informal Korea-Japan summit at the G7 summit venue being canceled due to Japan's passive attitude," and pointed out, "In such a situation, the disgraceful remarks by the Japanese Consul General in Korea emerged, and Japan has not taken appropriate measures in response."

He continued, "The provocative acts regarding Dokdo during the Tokyo Olympics and Japan's rigid and narrow-minded attitude toward existing Korea-Japan issues have not changed," and evaluated, "In this situation, it is meaningless to have expectations for a Korea-Japan summit."

He also directly addressed Japan, saying, "If Japan wants to be a trusted leading country in the world and a respected neighbor in Asia, it should not act like this."

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