Democratic Party Lawmakers' Visit to Dokdo Sparks Japan's Protest: "Clearly Japanese Territory"

Former Lawmaker "I Will Risk My Life to Defend Dokdo" Rebuttal

On the 2nd, the Japanese government lodged a protest through diplomatic channels regarding Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party of Korea visiting Dokdo, Kyodo News and public broadcaster NHK reported on the same day.

According to local reports, Takehiro Funakoshi, Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, strongly protested by phone to Kim Yong-gil, Political Minister at the Korean Embassy in Japan, saying, "This is absolutely unacceptable and very regrettable," and urged prevention of recurrence in relation to Rep. Jeon's visit to Dokdo.

Director-General Funakoshi claimed, "Despite prior protests and requests to stop, the landing on Dokdo by Rep. Jeon was carried out," and asserted, "Takeshima (竹島, the name Japan claims for Dokdo) is clearly Japanese territory from the perspectives of historical facts and international law."

The Japanese Embassy in Korea also protested to the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the same content, local media reported.

Assemblyman Jeon Yong-gi of the Democratic Party of Korea holding the Taegeukgi on Dokdo.
[Photo by Jeon Yong-gi, Democratic Party of Korea Facebook]

Rep. Jeon, who is the Youth Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, visited Dokdo along with the Youth Committee and University Student Committee after holding a send-off ceremony on the 27th of last month. He attempted to land on the 28th but could not due to high waves, and succeeded in arriving at Dokdo after trying again on the day.

On the day, Rep. Jeon posted a photo on the social networking service Facebook holding a banner that read "Welcome to Dokdo in Korea" and the Taegeukgi (South Korean national flag).

He said, "Today, I finally landed on Dokdo," adding, "Together with 14 young members of the Youth Committee and over 400 citizens who rode the boat with us today, we made a new pledge on our land Dokdo. And we ultimately certified that Dokdo is our land."

He continued, "We will more vigorously proclaim that Dokdo is our land and will never lose," and expressed his determination, saying, "We will protect our inherent territory Dokdo with our lives against Japan's sovereignty infringement."

Former lawmaker Jeon and the Democratic Party of Korea's Youth Committee and University Student Committee holding a banner that reads "Welcome to Dokdo in Korea" on Dokdo.
[Photo by Jeon Yong-gi, Democratic Party of Korea]

Upon hearing the news that Japan protested to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rep. Jeon strongly asserted, "This is a clear infringement of sovereignty and interference in internal affairs," and said, "We must strongly protest and urge prevention of recurrence so that such interference in internal affairs does not happen again."

Meanwhile, the Japanese government also protested through diplomatic channels and urged prevention of recurrence when a member of the opposition party, the People Power Party, landed on Dokdo in August 2021.

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