President-elect Yoon's Camp on Japan's 'Historical Distortion' Textbooks: "Inappropriate to Comment on Individual Cases"

"Proceeding with Discussions Based on Correct Historical Awareness"

On the afternoon of the 29th, high school history textbooks submitted by each publisher for approval are displayed in a meeting room of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The office of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol has withheld its stance on the approval of Japanese high school textbooks that distort history, stating, "Since it is still the president-elect's position, it is inappropriate to express opinions on individual diplomatic matters."

On the morning of the 30th, Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the president-elect, responded this way to questions regarding the Japanese history-distorting textbooks during a briefing at the Presidential Transition Committee (Transition Committee) in Tongui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Spokesperson Kim explained, "The message to Japan has been consistent in the phone calls with the Japanese ambassador and the prime minister," adding, "Based on a correct understanding of history, both countries will proceed with full discussions going forward for a future-oriented relationship."

Won Il-hee, senior deputy spokesperson of the Transition Committee, also said at the briefing, "Since this is an individual diplomatic issue, it is not a matter for the Transition Committee to take a position on."

On the 29th, Japan released the results of the screening for approval of social studies textbooks, including Japanese history exploration and geography exploration, which reflect historical distortions. The textbooks reportedly deleted expressions such as the "forced mobilization" of Koreans and "military comfort women," and strengthened the baseless claim that Dokdo is Japan's inherent territory. The term "military comfort women" was used to apologize for the forced mobilization of Japanese military "comfort women" and to acknowledge the military's involvement.

In response, on the 29th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Kumagai Naoki, the charg? d'affaires at the Embassy of Japan in Korea, to strongly protest. The Ministry also issued a spokesperson's statement saying, "We express deep regret over the Japanese government's approval of high school textbooks that distort historical facts based on a Japan-centric view of history and urge correction."

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