Ha Tae-kyung: "President Moon, Please Work to Mend the Broken Korea-Japan Relations"

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the People Power Party. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, urged President Moon Jae-in on the 19th to make efforts to mend Korea-Japan relations. He also emphasized that the conflict between South Korea and Japan could be entirely passed on to the next president, inevitably damaging national interests.

On the same day, Ha said in a post on his Facebook, "It was the last chance to open the door to normalizing Korea-Japan relations during President Moon's term, but it is regrettable that the outcome turned out this way."

He explained, "There are more than one or two reasons for the cancellation of the summit, but ultimately, President Moon could not overcome the anti-Japanese sentiment of his supporters, and Japanese Prime Minister Suga could not overcome the anti-Korean sentiment of his supporters."

He continued, "Since the leaders of both countries failed to show a bold decision that transcends their respective political positions, Korea-Japan relations will inevitably drift for a considerable period," adding, "The deterioration of Korea-Japan relations during President Moon's term and the resulting diplomatic burden being fully passed on to the next president is fatal."

Ha also criticized the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "They may judge it advantageous to play the 'Jukchangga' (a traditional Korean protest song) again in the presidential election, but national interests will be greatly damaged as a result."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "I once again urge President Moon to do his best efforts until the end to mend the damaged Korea-Japan relations during his term."

Finally, Ha said, "There is one remaining variable: the possibility of political changes within Japan depending on the results of the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election and the House of Representatives election to be held after the Olympics," adding, "I hope President Moon will not become 'a president who consistently takes an anti-Japanese stance and passes the diplomatic burden to the next president.'"

Earlier, on the 11th, when public opinion for a 'Tokyo Olympics boycott' arose, Ha urged President Moon, "Please attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics rather than boycotting it to normalize Korea-Japan relations during your term."

He said, "President Moon's attendance at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony would be an opportunity to show the Korean government's willingness to improve Korea-Japan relations not only to the Japanese people but also to neighboring countries," adding, "Please avoid passive responses influenced by your supporters that only pass on the aftereffects of anti-Japanese diplomacy and diplomatic burdens to the next president. That would cause fatal damage to national interests."

Meanwhile, Park Soo-hyun, the Blue House Chief of Public Communication, announced on the same day that President Moon decided not to visit Japan during the Tokyo Olympics.

In a briefing, Park said, "The governments of South Korea and Japan held meaningful consultations on progress regarding historical issues between the two countries and future-oriented cooperation, keeping in mind the possibility of a Korea-Japan summit during the Tokyo Olympics," adding, "There was considerable understanding, but it was still insufficient to consider it a successful summit."

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