Sung Il-jong: "Japan Will Also Respond Positively at the Korea-Japan Summit"

Sung Il-jong, the Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, predicted on the 16th that Japan would also respond sincerely to South Korea, including lifting export restrictions, at the Korea-Japan summit held in Tokyo.

On the 16th, Chairman Sung said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Japan also seems to think that the currently blocked Korea-Japan relationship cannot continue as it is."

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, and Sung Il-jong, chairman of the Policy Committee, are attending the public-party-government council on strengthening labor union accounting transparency held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On that day, the leaders of Korea and Japan will hold a summit in Tokyo and put their heads together to resolve the forced labor issue. Since South Korea has expressed its willingness to accept 'third-party compensation,' it is explained that Japan will also show a corresponding response.

Chairman Sung said, "First of all, export restrictions will be lifted, and Japan will also need to prepare for the future in various aspects," adding, "I think these parts will progress at the working level sequentially after the summit ends."

The National Security Office previously stated that the issues of Japan's export restrictions and reinstatement to the whitelist would naturally be resolved through this summit. Chairman Sung said, "(The reinstatement to the whitelist) is being handled at the working level, so we cannot grasp the details," but added, "However, I think Korea-Japan relations should really return to the level of the DJ-Obuchi Declaration, which was the best period."

It is uncertain how much Japan will concede. Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, previously pointed out, "Three days after the government announced the third-party compensation method, the Japanese Foreign Minister officially denied the forced mobilization, saying it never happened," and criticized, "the government's naive expectation that 'if Korea unilaterally concedes, Japan will respond sincerely' is being brutally trampled."

It is also still unknown to what extent Japanese companies will participate in the third-party compensation. Chairman Sung said, "It is a very difficult part, and the Moon Jae-in administration also failed to narrow down these issues," adding, "Therefore, it seems that these parts have been organized into a foundation for future generations, but the core point of facing the past and moving toward the future for future generations was the DJ-Obuchi Declaration, wasn't it?"

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