[Initial Perspective] Korea-Japan Relations, Trust Between Governments Based on 'Seongsin Gyorin'

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the 8th, when urgent reports came out that former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot during an election campaign in Japan, the Korean diplomatic community was on high alert about the impact of the incident on Korea-Japan relations.

Above all, there was concern about the identity of the perpetrator. If the perpetrator had any connection to Korea, the already strained Korea-Japan relations, worsened by the death of Abe, a symbol of the Japanese right wing, could have frozen even further. This was a groundless worry. The perpetrator was a former member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Afterwards, the government's response was swift. It immediately expressed condolences and announced its intention to pay respects. This reflected the intention to use the condolence diplomacy following Abe’s sudden death as a momentum to improve Korea-Japan relations.

It was from this point that the long-delayed visit of Foreign Minister Park Jin to Japan began to be discussed. Minister Park, who had postponed his visit once due to the Japanese House of Councillors election scheduled for the 10th, was considering when to make the trip.

Minister Park could not miss this opportunity. The condolence visit for former Prime Minister Abe provided a chance to meet with the Japanese government and politicians.

Minister Park recently visited Japan for a 2-night, 3-day schedule. During the short visit, he had a busy itinerary including a Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, a courtesy call on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and meetings with NUKAGA, chairman of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians’ Union, and former Prime Minister Mori.

The diplomatic community evaluates the Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting, held for the first time under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, as a half-success. Given the imminent sale of Japanese companies’ assets in Korea following the South Korean Supreme Court’s forced labor compensation ruling, it is meaningful that the heads of diplomacy from both countries agreed on the need to find an early solution.

However, there was no concrete consensus on the methods of apology and compensation demanded by the victims from Japanese companies during this meeting.

There is talk in some quarters about a so-called ‘subrogation’ plan, where third parties such as Korean and Japanese companies voluntarily create a fund to pay compensation on behalf of the defendant companies, but victims insist that the defendant companies must participate and apologize.

Moreover, it is not easy to change the unchanging stance of the Japanese government. The reaction of the Japanese media to this meeting reveals their position.

NHK reported, “The (Japanese) government’s policy is to carefully observe whether the Korean side will come up with an acceptable solution before the cashing in of Japanese companies’ assets.”

The Yomiuri Shimbun quoted a senior official of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying, “We positively evaluate that the Korean foreign minister showed willingness to resolve the issue, but it is doubtful whether an actual solution can be presented.”

Our government does not expect dramatic improvement in Korea-Japan relations just because they met once.

Because, as Korea and Japan are entangled in historical issues, it is not easy for relations to improve in a short period.

After returning on the afternoon of the 20th, Minister Park met reporters at Gimpo Airport and said, “I felt like I was on a Joseon Tongsinsa mission to solve the complicated issues between Korea and Japan,” and added, “What is most needed now between Korea and Japan is to restore communication and trust and revive the spirit of Seongsin Gyorin (誠信交隣).” This attests to the difficulty.

We hope that both governments will once again reflect on the principle of ‘Seongsin Gyorin’ (making friends with sincerity and trust), which was proposed as the foundation of diplomatic relations by the Edo-period Confucian scholar Amenomori H?sh?, who emphasized the need to restore friendly relations between Joseon and Japan after the Imjin War.

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