President Yoon Responds to Critics of His Efforts to Improve Relations with Japan
President Yoon is absolutely correct in his comments:
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday refuted domestic criticism against his efforts to mend ties with Japan despite Tokyo’s reluctance to issue an additional apology for its past wartime wrongdoings, saying that neglecting the frayed relationship with the neighboring country for political interest is tantamount to dereliction of the president’s duty.
Korea Times
“The previous government left the troubled relationship between South Korea and Japan untouched and this resulted in the people of both countries and ethnic South Koreans living in Japan suffering, and the security and economies of both countries falling into a deep abyss,” Yoon said during his 25-minute opening speech at a Cabinet meeting.
“I also could have chosen an easy path for immediate political gains and left the worst-ever South Korea-Japan relations unaddressed. However, I believed that neglecting grave international circumstances and exploiting the hostile nationalism and anti-Japan sentiment for domestic politics are nothing more than abandoning my duties as the president.”
Yoon’s unscheduled speech came amid his faltering job approval ratings after last week’s summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Fueling anti-Japan sentiment among South Koreans is the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) that has been harshly criticizing the president for having “paid tribute to Japan” with his “abysmal summit.” (………)
“In our society, there are groups which are seeking political gains by evoking exclusive nationalism and anti-Japan sentiment,” Yoon said, referring to the DPK’s criticism. “Japan has expressed its remorse and apologies over the history issue tens of times.”
Yoon cited past apologies released by the Japanese government, including the 1998 joint declaration announced by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. In the declaration, Obuchi expressed his deep remorse and apology for the “tremendous damage and suffering” the South Korean people experienced during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation.
You can read more at the link from President Yoon’s speech. The political opposition continues to call the Yoon administration “traitors” and vows to launch investigations against them for improving ties with Tokyo.
Like I have said before, but it is hard to take the political opposition seriously when they supported the North Korea policies of the prior Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kim Jong-un is in charge of a North Korean regime that has killed far more Koreans than Imperial Japan could ever dream of. Additionally Kim Jong-un is in charge of a regime that continues to regularly threaten South Korea with annihilation and enslaves a large amount of Koreans in labor camps among other human rights violations. Why isn’t the political opposition demanding constant apologies from the Kim regime?
Instead the political opposition is more concerned about stopping cooperation with a country that actually wants to help South Korea defend itself from annihilation from North Korea. When the opponents of President Yoon start making demands for apologies and compensation from North Korea then maybe I will take their claims against Japan seriously.
GI, Yoon’s political opponents, much likevour local “chinabots”, are not serious people. You will never need to take their claims seriously. They are merely mouthpieces for Beijing, though some may speak with a Pyongyang twang.
Communists haven’t really changed since the 1930s. Their rhetoric is nauseatingly consistent and lame.
Any politician foolish enough to apologize is never forgiven, merely hounded out of office like the “criminals who confessed crimes against the State” during Stalin’s and Mao’s reigns of terror.
They’re suicidal death cultists bent on making all free nations self-destruct like the poor kids in Itaewon on Halloween.
“Look!” they shout. “Over there! Free stuff!”
And their victims fall headlong into their trap. And yes, I believe the itaewon disaster was arranged on purpose by agents of Beijing. It suited their purposes. And they are ruthless enough to conceive, plan, and execute it.
Yes, it could have just been a horrible accident; but the malicious glee expressed by Yoon’s domestic enemies, as well as the immediate noise from Beijing and Pyongyang, rather gave away the show. They were not even goingbto let the dead be buried before making political points.
And frankly, I’m suspicious about the ferryboat disaster as well. It would not have taken much to sabotage that old tub. And the political “gains” were the same as they tried to do again with Yoon.
I don’t know Yoon and frankly don’t care. He’s trying to save South Korea. His opponents are trying to destroy it. That’s enough for me.
And it’s up to South Korean voters to decide what path they follow in the future. The Korean left wants them all grubbing for tasty parasites like the bad-tempered folks just to the north of the DMZ.
Granted, Japan continues to mis-teach/non-teach their 20th century history, so it is not unreasonable for neighbors to lack full trust in the country. But leaders have apologized a number of times and paid reparations.
So it seems it should be a time now to be mature and to confront current and near-future problems. Those are to the north and west of South Korea, as they have been for 70+ years.
Yoon is showing a lot of guts by pushing forward.
Oh please. Yoon can say, the sky is brown and you’ll still be praising him. Only because he serves the US interest the most. That’s all the US cares about, and you as well. If Yoon goes on a terror and starts arresting the entire opposition government for treason and torturing them as Commies, you’ll still be supporting him as an unsung hero, as long as Yoon supports the US interests. The history of US foreign policy on South Korea shows this is true, that the US supports its client state, no matter what kind of things they do to their own people. It’s no wonder you like Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan and their mass killings. And they were also chummy with Japan too, copying their programs.
And where were you when Trump was all chummy with Kim Jong-un in Singapore, he almost signed that agreement. I guess the Trumpeans would easily overlook that?
“the sky is brown”
You show an amazing lack of self-awareness.
…or you are a chinabot with a poor view of the Korean sky from your basement.
I’m going with the second one… no… both.
Is there anything you can say that doesn’t give you away? My consulting services are really needed.
Did I say anything not true chickenhead? If Yoon was dallying it up with China, all the Trumpsters here would be pointing at Yoon as a no-good commie that sold out his country.
Ah yes.
Setnaffa once commented that his opponents are long winded. But as clearly shown so is Setnaffa.
Setnaffa is surely a master of doublespeak which made its debut in George Orwell’s ‘1984’.
And the enviroment of ‘1984’ surely suits Setnaffa since he is obviously a fan of Putin.
I believe the itaewon disaster was arranged on purpose by agents of Beijing. It suited their purposes.
So more conspiracy theories. But one wonders what does Beijing gain from the Itaewon tragedy?
I’m suspicious about the ferryboat disaster as well. It would not have taken much to sabotage that old tub.
Well it seems that setnaffa and some of the families of the Sewol victims have one thing in common. They both believe that the ferry was sabotaged and that the tragedy was intentional.
I keep thinking how does opposing Yoon’s latest efforts to “improve” relations with Japan help China?
It’s not like Japan provides military support to the ROK or is in a position to provide such assistance.
If the ROK gets into a situation where it requires military assistance it is the US that will be in the lead.
And despite the campaign rhetoric, no left-wing Korean President has actively pursued the withdrawal of the USFK.
Once they take the seat of power, they become pragamatic and the USFK is left alone.
There is as former Pres. Moon stated, a “campaign mode” and the “Presidential mode” which are sometimes totally different from each other.
Actually it is the Americans who are more eager to have the USFK withdrawn, and with the exception of Jimmy Carter that has been pursued more by Republican Presidents.
Nixon and Bush 2nd actually withdrew elements of the USFK while Trump tried and failed to have the USFK completely withdrawn.
So the conspiracy theory put forward by the Setnaffarians and GI Korea that China is working with elements of the Korean left to have the USFK withdrawn is obviously BS since it is the Americans that want out.
The spat between the ruling and opposing parties regarding the latest Japan initiative is just another political spat, which you see all across the world.
I don’t know Yoon and frankly don’t care. He’s trying to save South Korea.
Interesting to note that the two sentences contradict each other.
Setnaffa saying he “doesn’t care” about Yoon, can be translated as Yoon can destroy South Korea but Setnaffa will just shrug his shoulders and say “I don’t care.”
However on the second sentence he is stating that he’s “trying to save South Korea”, which means Setnaffa cares and as such contradicts his first sentence.
Other than saying that Setnaffa cares about Yoon the second sentence also means that he will do what he can to prop up Yoon even if Yoon goes the autocratic path, ignores the rule of law, and makes life miserable for the ordinary Korean.
All because Setnaffa believes Yoon will keep the USFK in Korea forever and protect Setnaffa’s “friends” and “family”.
It is in Korea’s best interests to move on from things that happened 70+ years ago and concentrate on how it can exploit the many shared interests with Japan.
Promoting needless division between Korea and Japan, and Korea and America, only benefits China.
Isn’t that right, Chinabot.
Of course the useful idiots of drama-hungry Korean nationalists, with the wrong kind of nationalism, will push the importance of their outdated emotional trauma by proxy instead of promoting good Korea nationalism by appropriating Japanese technology, skills, supplies, and services, to make Korea better.
Korea is starting to sound like black people who were never slaves demanding compensation from white people who never owned slaves in a state that never had slaves due to a war where hundreds of thousands of white men died to stop people from keeping slaves.
Or maybe this is just what the chonabots want you to think.
You’re right, CH. I don’t hear Koreans complaining about Yoon, just nancyboys from the CCP’s flophouses.
I don’t hear Koreans complaining about Yoon
Setnaffa
Didn’t you just state that you didn’t “care?”
It is in Korea’s best interests to move on from things that happened 70+ years ago and concentrate on how it can exploit the many shared interests with Japan.
Have you moved on from the vaccine envy, obsession with lockdowns, your hatred of labor unions and concentrate on looking forward to a life without the spreading of fake news and misinformation?
“Have you moved on from the vaccine envy, obsession with lockdowns, your hatred of labor unions and concentrate on looking forward to a life without the spreading of fake news and misinformation?”
I bet I do at some point within the next 70 years.
Sooner, if it is clear none of that will affect me again.
Japan isn’t going to colonize Korea, get any more comfort women, or invade Dokdo.
Korea needs to stop being thr self-destructive spaz kid and move to the future.