Seong Il-jong: "Kishida's Honest Reflection... Opposition Criticism Aimed at Political Gain"

Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, evaluated Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's expression of regret, saying he "deeply feels sorry," as an "honest reflection," and criticized the opposition party's criticism as "political gain."

On the 8th, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' Rep. Seong said, "It is like the DJ-Obuchi Declaration, which aims to inherit the sincere reflection and apology for the painful history of the past in order to move toward the future," adding, "Regarding the part where the Japanese Prime Minister also said he deeply feels sorry for the difficult and sad experiences many people have had, I personally think it was expressed quite honestly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the opposition party criticized, saying, 'Who gave President Yoon Seok-yeol the right to overlook the issue of forced mobilization and comfort women as our pain?' In response, Rep. Seong said, "Then, who gave President Kim Dae-jung the authority to move forward regarding the past in the case of the DJ-Obuchi Declaration?" and "If the Democratic Party issues such a statement, it means they are denying the DJ-Obuchi Declaration."

He continued, "Perhaps the opposition party issued it because they are the opposition, and for political gain, but the people will clearly understand," adding, "The Japanese government apologized and sincerely reflected on the past without wavering, and they said they would continue that, and there was also an honest reflection from the Japanese Prime Minister."

Following the outcome of the Korea-Japan summit, it was decided to dispatch an inspection team to Fukushima contaminated water in Korea, but there are criticisms that this is insufficient as it is not a verification team. Regarding this, Rep. Seong said, "Verification is already being conducted with our government's participation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization. Dr. Kim Hong-seok from our country is participating and working jointly," adding, "Then, since we pay contributions to the international organization, are we going to deny the international organization?"

He also explained, "The Fukushima contaminated water discharge does not come directly to our country. Due to ocean currents, it passes Guam and the Pacific Ocean, goes toward California, and then circulates back," adding, "Therefore, all these countries, including the United States, will have interests related to their own countries, and if there were any problems, the (IAEA) would never approve this."

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