Yoo Seung-min: "I'm worried this might even go wrong with Dokdo"

Yoo Seung-min: "The President's Celebration Speech Lacks 'Japan'... Truly Strange and Bizarre
"I Wonder What Today Means to President Yoon and the Significance of Liberation"

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol's Liberation Day congratulatory speech, saying, "There is no mention of 'Japan' in the president's congratulatory speech. It is truly strange and bizarre." He also expressed concern, stating, "History is being shaken under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. I worry that even Dokdo might be mishandled."

On the 15th, Yoo wrote on his Facebook, "Among the 365 days, today is definitely a day to remember the painful history and condemn the atrocities of the invading Japan and to urge Japan's reflection." He added, "However, there is no mention of 'Japan' in the president's congratulatory speech. The phrase 'the defeat of Imperial Japan' appears only once."

He continued, "Following last year's Liberation Day, Japan disappeared again from the president's congratulatory speech today. It is truly strange and bizarre." He also wrote, "Reading President Yoon's Liberation Day speech, I wonder what kind of day today is to him and what the meaning of liberation is."

Regarding President Yoon's emphasis on 'unification' in the speech, Yoo sharply criticized, "Before talking about unification, we must talk about the history of suffering our people endured during Japan's 35 years of colonial rule and speak about Japan's crimes."

He also said, "We must never forget that the reason the president talks about unification today is because of the history of being ruled and having our sovereignty taken away by Japan," adding, "If we forget the long history from 114 years ago to 79 years ago, how can a nation that forgets its history do anything about unification?"

Yoo expressed concern, saying, "History is being shaken under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration regarding forced labor, comfort women, the Hong Beom-do statue, and the Sado mine. I worry that even Dokdo might be mishandled."

Meanwhile, Japanese media also unanimously described President Yoon's Liberation Day speech, which did not mention past issues with Japan, as "unprecedented."

On the 15th, Japan's Mainichi Shimbun reported, "In past Korean presidents' Liberation Day speeches, there were many cases including criticism of Japan over historical issues, but in President Yoon's speech, which values relations with Japan, there was no criticism of Japan, following last year." The Nihon Keizai Shimbun also reported, "There was no direct mention of historical issues at the Liberation Day event commemorating liberation from Japan."

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