Government's First Public-Private Joint TF on Sado Mine to Cooperate with International Community (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Inho Yoo] The government has decided to actively cooperate with the international community regarding Japan's push to register Sado Mine as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

On the 4th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the first meeting of the "Public-Private Joint Task Force (TF) for Responding to the Promotion of Sado Mine World Heritage Registration," chaired by Public Diplomacy Ambassador Sang-hwa Lee, to discuss step-by-step response strategies and action plans by relevant ministries and agencies.

The TF included senior officials at the director level from a total of 10 ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Education, Cultural Heritage Administration, Overseas Cultural Promotion Agency, and the National Archives, as well as three public institutions such as the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization under Japanese Rule, Northeast Asian History Foundation, and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.

About ten experts in fields such as World Heritage, Korea-Japan relations, and the history of forced mobilization also attended the meeting.

The TF is led by Ambassador Sang-hwa Lee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the head, with director-level officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism serving as deputy heads.

Ambassador Lee stated, "We plan to focus on step-by-step response strategies and action plans according to the division of work among ministries, agencies, and expert groups. We will meticulously prepare by collecting and analyzing necessary materials through consultations with experts in related fields and close cooperation among relevant ministries and agencies."

The attendees strongly agreed with the government's position that the strong decision adopted by the World Heritage Committee in July last year must be recalled, and that Japan must first fulfill the follow-up measures it promised to the international community regarding the 2015 registration of Japan's Modern Industrial Heritage.

They also shared the recognition that organic and close cooperation between the public and private sectors is important in responding to Japan's push for Sado Mine's World Heritage registration.

The public-private joint TF will actively operate small working groups by field as needed, maintain an efficient domestic cooperation system, and actively promote cooperation with the international community.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government submitted a nomination dossier to UNESCO on the 1st for the registration of Sado Mine as a World Heritage site. On the same day, Japan held its first TF meeting related to Sado Mine, involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Sado Mine, located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, like Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, was a site where forced labor of Koreans occurred during the Japanese colonial period.

However, the Japanese government is promoting the World Heritage registration by emphasizing only that Sado Mine was the largest gold mine in Japan during the Edo period in the 17th century and the world's largest gold producer, excluding these historical facts.

The decision on whether Sado Mine will be registered as a World Heritage site is expected to be made around June to July next year at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. Until then, a fierce "Sado Mine diplomatic battle" between Korea and Japan is anticipated.

In a phone call with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi the day before, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong strongly protested Japan's recent insistence on nominating Sado Mine for UNESCO World Heritage registration.

Minister Chung pointed out that "a correct historical understanding is the foundation for the future-oriented development of Korea-Japan relations." He also strongly urged Japan to faithfully implement the follow-up measures it promised when Japan's Modern Industrial Heritage, including Hashima Island, was registered as a World Heritage site in 2015.

Minister Chung expressed concern, saying, "While not implementing these follow-up measures, there are movements within Japan's political and governmental circles that go against the spirit of apology and reflection on past history that the Japanese government itself has expressed, and the Japanese government is also condoning this."

In response, Foreign Minister Hayashi told Minister Chung that "Korea-Japan relations have continued to be very difficult due to domestic movements in Korea regarding issues such as former Korean Peninsula laborers (forced labor) and comfort women," shifting the responsibility for the deterioration of bilateral relations onto Korea.

Foreign Minister Hayashi strongly demanded that Korea take responsibility and respond appropriately to the issues between the two countries.

Due to these differences between the Korean and Japanese governments over Sado Mine and historical issues, prospects for improving bilateral relations appear difficult. As the United States strengthens trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan regarding the Korean Peninsula issue, the cooling of Korea-Japan relations is pointed out as a negative factor.

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