"Japan-Korea Relations Will Collapse... Yoon Must Apologize," Japanese Media Criticizes Our Navy Radar Guidelines

On the 15th, President Yoon Suk-yeol delivered a congratulatory speech at the 77th Liberation Day celebration held on the lawn of the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A conservative Japanese media outlet has called for an apology from President Yoon Suk-yeol while advocating for improved South Korea-Japan relations. They claim that the guidelines for responding to Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) aircraft, established during the Moon Jae-in administration, threaten the safety of both countries. Additionally, they maintain the position that the compensation issue for forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial period has already been resolved.

On the 20th, Japan’s Sankei Shimbun published an editorial addressing President Yoon’s policy toward Japan, stating these points. First, they criticized the fact that the previous government created guidelines for the South Korean Navy’s response to JSDF aircraft.

This information had previously been disclosed by some domestic media. According to reports, in February 2019, during the Moon Jae-in administration, military authorities issued guidelines related to responding to Japanese maritime patrol aircraft. These included instructions to actively respond, such as locking tracking radar on patrol aircraft flying at low altitudes and close proximity. This measure was reportedly prepared following a series of low-altitude threat flights by Japanese patrol aircraft from December 2018 to January 2019.

Regarding this, the newspaper strongly criticized it, saying, "It is effectively a combat engagement guideline." The paper stated, "If JSDF aircraft approaching in international waters do not respond to warnings and maintain close-range flight, the guidelines stipulate locking fire control radar on them to counteract," and argued, "Locking fire control radar is a hostile and dangerous act as it is a preparatory step for precise targeting with missiles or other weapons."

They particularly pointed out that Russian or Chinese aircraft were not included in the guidelines. The newspaper argued, "President Yoon, who was elected emphasizing the importance of security cooperation, also stressed the importance of cooperation with Japan in his August 15 (Liberation Day) speech, so he should acknowledge the mistake regarding these guidelines and apologize." They also demanded the immediate abolition of the radar tracking guidelines. Furthermore, they added, "If this issue is simply overlooked, it must be recognized that neither improvement in relations with Japan nor security cooperation will be possible."

Moreover, regarding the compensation issue for forced labor victims during the Japanese colonial period, they maintained the stance that it was already resolved by the 1965 South Korea-Japan Claims Agreement. The newspaper claimed, "If the order to sell Japanese companies’ assets is finalized and cash compensation is made, South Korea-Japan relations could collapse," and urged, "President Yoon must take all possible measures to prevent this."

Currently, the procedure to forcibly sell the domestic assets of Japanese war crime companies to pay compensation to forced labor victims is reportedly postponed. On the 19th, the Supreme Court delayed its final judgment, stating it would further review the special cash compensation order case concerning two patents of Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In response, the victims demanded immediate cash compensation and protested, while the Japanese government opposes the cash compensation of Japanese companies’ assets for forced labor victim compensation.

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