President Yoon Seo-yue, who has decided that there is no other way than to “unify the country” to solve the forced labor issue, cannot act dishonestly to “move the goal post” this time (1/ 6) | JBpress (JBpress)

No dishonesty ‘move the posts’ this time

(Masatoshi Muto: former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to South Korea)

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has shown a strong desire to repair Japan-South Korea relations since he took office in May last year. However, there was a wall that needed to be overcome. It is a solution to the conscription problem.

Until then, President Yoon had been trapped between the Japanese government and the forced laborers and their support groups, unable to find even a solution to the problem. But now there are signs that things are about to take a major turn. Looking at the recent developments in South Korea, it seems that President Yoon has decided to resolve the issue based on the proposal, even if the conscripted workers are not satisfied with it.

The requisitioned worker requests cannot solve the problem

According to South Korean media reports, the method of resolving the matter will generally be in line with the Japanese government’s statement that “the issue of forced labor has already been resolved between Japan and South Korea and should be resolved by South Korea “. . In response, the forced laborers, who have sued and sought compensation, are stepping up their opposition. The Hankyoreh newspaper reported that the plan under consideration by the South Korean government was “to secure financial resources for reparations with donations from South Korean companies”, with the headline “a shameful measure that excludes the guilty”.

However, President Yoon Seok-yeol’s determination to resolve the issue does not seem to change. JoongAng Ilbo reports that the South Korean government will soon announce a solution and is considering a method to persuade victims (aka forced labourers) after the fact.

For the South Korean government, it is within the scope of expectations that the requisitioned workers oppose the solution currently under study. A South Korean government diplomatic official told the media, “It is almost impossible to come up with a plan that all the victims can fully agree with. For now, the two countries are negotiating to meet even half of the victims’ demands.” ‘ points out.

This means that while the South Korean government requests the Japanese side to respond in good faith, the South Korean side first comes up with a solution and, together with the Japanese side’s response, moves on to a method of persuading the requisitioned workers individually. I do not believe.