Yoon: "Solution to Forced Labor Issue Respects Victims' Positions - Result of Seeking Joint Korea-Japan Interests and Future"

"Criticism of 'Humiliating Solution' Directly Addressed"
All Past Governments Made Reasonable Compensation Efforts
Calls for Swift Normalization of Cooperation with Key Partner Countries in Security and Science & Technology

President Yoon Suk-yeol (face) on the 7th emphasized the legitimacy of the government's official announcement on the solution to the forced labor issue, stating, "The government has sought a solution that respects the victims' positions while aligning with the mutual interests and future development of both Korea and Japan."

In his opening remarks at the 10th Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office at 10 a.m. that day, President Yoon said, "The government announced yesterday a plan to improve Korea-Japan relations regarding the forced labor issue."

Earlier, the government officially announced a solution to the forced labor issue through the Japan Forced Labor Victims Support Foundation, which supports victims with lawsuit settlement funds through a 'third-party payment' method. In response to fierce criticism from surviving forced labor victims and civic groups calling it a 'humiliating solution,' President Yoon personally stepped forward to clarify the matter.

First, he mentioned the compensation efforts made by previous governments for forced labor victims. President Yoon said, "The Republic of Korea government has consistently worked to heal the pain of citizens who suffered forced labor during the Japanese colonial period and to ensure they receive appropriate compensation," adding, "In 1974, a special law was enacted to compensate 83,519 cases with 9.2 billion KRW, equivalent to 9.7% of the 300 million USD in claim funds, and again in 2007, another special law was enacted to compensate about 78,000 people with approximately 650 billion KRW from government finances."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also emphasized the need for cooperation, citing Japan as a current partner of Korea in security, economy, and science and technology. President Yoon stated, "As I mentioned in the March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, Japan has transformed from a militaristic aggressor in the past to a partner that shares universal values with us and cooperates in security, economy, science and technology, and global agendas."

He reiterated that Korea and Japan are important partners in terms of people-to-people exchanges and trade volume. President Yoon noted, "The number of Koreans visiting Japan was 7.53 million annually in 2018 before COVID-19, and even in 2019, when Korea-Japan relations deteriorated, it reached 5.58 million," adding, "The number of Japanese visiting Korea was 3.27 million in 2019 before COVID-19," and "Japanese people rank Korea as the number one country they most want to visit once COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted," highlighting the status of Korea-Japan civil exchanges. He further added, "Trade between the two countries accounts for 6 to 7% of our total trade volume, and foreign direct investment in our companies from Japan and Japanese companies exceeds 22% of the total."

President Yoon, who has emphasized the need to "quickly resolve" the issue despite suggestions from his aides to slow down, called for the swift normalization of Korea-Japan cooperation in economic, security, and cultural exchanges. He urged, "Cabinet members should carefully prepare and support the establishment of cooperative systems between government ministries of both countries for future-oriented cooperation, as well as substantial exchange and cooperation plans involving the business sector and future generations."

The economic ministries of Korea and Japan have agreed to suspend the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution procedures related to semiconductor export restrictions. In addition, they plan to begin discussions on economic cooperation centered on relevant ministries in line with moves to lift the restrictions. Once this process is completed, it is expected that Japan's export restrictions will be lifted to the level before July 2019 within the first half of this year.

President Yoon also expressed expectations that Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation for peace in Northeast Asia will reach a higher level as a result of the forced labor solution. He emphasized, "Future-oriented cooperation between Korea and Japan will protect freedom, peace, and prosperity not only for the two countries but for the entire world." With the improvement in Korea-Japan relations, there are speculations that President Yoon will enter a series of summit meetings, including Korea-Japan and Korea-U.S. summits.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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